Mission: Ordinary aka The struggle of fitting in
by Ichgehrausundschliessedietr5
Summary: Collection of little stories. Set after Library of souls (possible spoiler). Miss Peregrine and her children are living with Jake in Florida, slowly getting used to the new world? Combination of the characters from the movie and the books. Rated T again, but some chapters might be M - so please read the chapter-notifications first ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is my new idea. I will write little stories about the everyday life of Miss Peregrine and her children in America. In my story, Fiona is still alive.**

 **For now, my plan is to write several little, completed stories. If they are longer, I will probably split them into multiple chapters. This first chapter is just the introduction and explains what has happened since they arrived and what I think is their normal daily routine.**

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Chapter 1

 _6.00_ ,Miss Peregrine awakes to the sound of her alarm clock. It's still dark outside, since it's only February. So the first thing she does is switching on the light on her night stand. Reluctantly, Alma gets up. She didn't sleep well and is still tired but as always her children have to come first. She walks over to a small lavatory, she has in her room. After washing herself and brushing her teeth, she takes care of her hair. Touching it still feels strange, her hair is so much softer than before, probably because of the hair products they have in the year 2017. She still puts her hair in a bun though, some things never change. Then she puts on some make up, before she goes to her dresser and puts on a long dark dress with long sleeves. It is still quite cold in the morning hours.

As quietly as possible she makes her way through the living room into the kitchen to prepare the breakfast for her children. She still feels uncomfortable, living in the house of others.

The first few weeks were strange for them all. Jake's parents needed some time to comprehend what was happening and to get used to the new situation. In the end it took them 2 weeks until they first spoke to one of them. For the children it seemed to be easier, they loved exploring the new world and with Jake, as an older brother of sorts, showing them everything, they had so much fun that they nearly forgot that they weren't in their own house anymore. From time to time Alma had to remind them that they were only guests and had to behave that way. But all in all she had let her discipline slide during their first month. After all they had been through she wanted her children to just feel happy and loved again.

After 4 weeks Mrs. and Mr. Portman seemed to have come to terms with them staying here. Mrs. Portman started to have conversations with Miss Peregrine and sometimes they talked for hours about their lives and raising children. Mr. Portman had built two soccer goals in their garden and played with the children from time to time.

But then, after 2 month they decided they needed some time out and thought they could take advantage of the opportunity that there was another adult in the house to look after their son. In the time after Abe's death they had argued a lot. About Jake, about Mrs. Portman never being there for her family or Mr. Portman not having a sensible job. And as Jake was gone, their fear brought them closer together again. After seeing that Jake was well and in good hands, they decided they had to take care of their own relationship as well. Mrs. Portman quitted her job, at least temporary, and they started a world trip, something they had dreamed of before Jake was born. Jake's uncles had to promise to keep an eye on him, his parents still didn't trust Miss Peregrine completely. Since Jake's parents left, Jake's uncles have been to visit once or twice but preferred to keep their distance, the new family members were rather suspect to them. But at least they had offered to pay for the house in the meantime, even if that was probably just to silence their bad conscience.

Miss Peregrine got along well with Jake's parents but to be honest, she was quite relieved as they left. She had always preferred to live the life she wanted and set her own rules. Therefore she didn't like adapting herself to the lives of Mrs. and Mr. Portman.

As Miss Peregrine enters the kitchen she first turns on the coffee machine. The first thing, she got really used to in 2017, was a cup of coffee in the morning. Now she couldn't imagine a day without it.

Then she starts getting the ingredients for breakfast. It's not like it used to be. Because the children go to school here, they don't have as much time in the mornings as before. Therefore it's mostly toast or pancakes for breakfast and only on the weekends Miss Peregrine would serve all the things they ate for breakfast in their old home.

 _Their old home...it feels strange to think about it like that._

For Miss Peregrine it isn't as easy to start a new life in America as for her children. Often she feels homesick even if she knows that this is her new home now. She had lost everything in Great Britain and it reminds her of her failure. She wasn't able to protect her children like she should have and it were her brothers that had let her children suffer, something she could have prevented if she had treated them differently as a child. These are the things she dreams about, the dreams she wakes up from covered in sweat. That's the reason she doesn't sleep much, she can't bear to see her brothers in her dreams. Either they torture her or her precious children or they tell her that it's all her fault, that she had made them the way they were.

Alma sits at the small kitchen table until the coffee is ready. She needs to drink a cup before she has the energy to prepare the meal. It's already half past 6 when she finishes the batter. Then she goes to wake up the older children, they need the time to get ready. Normally they need half of the time only to argue who uses the shower first.

In general, the house with its 5 bedrooms is big enough to accommodate them all. They had to turn the storeroom into a bedroom for Miss Peregrine and the children had to share the other rooms, but it worked quite well. Enoch had moved in with Jake; Emma, Olive and Fiona were sharing a room, as well as Horace, Millard and Hugh; and the twins, Claire and Bronwyn. The only problem was the bathroom, it just wasn't enough especially in the mornings.

As Miss Peregrine returns to the kitchen and heats the pan for the pancakes she already hears Emma and Olive racing towards the bathroom door. It seems that Olive won and Emma stomps back towards their room, obviously angry about her shoes slowing her down. Miss Peregrine has to smile, she loves all her children and even if she doesn't like them arguing, she has to admit that it's quite amusing sometimes.

After she has finished preparing everything and setting the table she goes into the room where her little children are sleeping. Gently she wakes them up gets their clothes out of the dresser and places them on the edge of their beds. Before she leaves again she reminds them of washing and brushing their teeth before breakfast.

Then she starts preparing all the lunchboxes for school while eating something herself in between. She has never eaten very much but since they arrived in America it has gotten even less. She just doesn't find the time in the mornings and for lunch or dinner she doesn't feel hungry. She knows that she has already lost weight and that it's probably the reason she usually feels weak, along with the lack of sleep, but she worries so much about her children that she usually forgets about her own problems. Probably it's just easier to forget and not think about it.

While she serves the pancakes and toast, the older children and then the younger ones come trudging into the living room, sitting down at the big table. They haven't gotten used to getting up for school either. They have never had to get up this early before.

Normally no one talks during breakfast. The children, who have finished ,pick up their lunchbox from Miss Peregrine and go to get their things for school.

At 7.20 the older children leave to get the bus to school. They are all going to a normal school, except for Claire and the twins who attend an inclusive elementary school.

Miss Peregrine had managed to convince the teacher that the twins were born with a rare genetic defect which had severe consequences on the development of their faces which forces them to wear their masks and results in their muteness as well. To make them less noticeable, they are now wearing normal clothes and their masks were made more realistic compared to a human face. Claire had to learn to control her backmouth, that no one would notice it and just to be on the save side Miss Peregrine puts her hair in a tight plait that conceals it well and makes it impossible to open on its own.

Bronwyn, Fiona and Hugh attend a middle school, while Millard, Horace, Enoch, Olive and Emma go to the same High school as Jake does. All of Miss Peregrine's children have been sorted in higher classes than their age would indicate, because of their excellent homeschooling. Miss Peregrine would have loved to keep teaching them but she had to admit that she wouldn't be able to impart the knowledge to them that they need in this time. Besides, going to a real school would help them to integrate into this new world and to find friends.

It wasn't easy though. While most of the children can hide their peculiarities quite easily, others have big problems. Emma and Olive just have to wear their boots or gloves. But Hugh had to learn to control his bees or to live without them for a short time, like during school hours. They had built a bee hive for them in their garden, where Hugh could leave them. At first it was really hard for him and he couldn't be without them for longer than half an hour or they would follow him and not stay in the beehive. But with time it got better and after 5 weeks Miss Peregrine allowed him to go to school with the others.

For Millard, it is even harder to conceal his peculiarity. In the beginning he thought he would never be allowed to go to school or would have to go naked and never get a degree. But then Jake came up with the idea, that he could wear a white overall that would cover his whole skin, especially his face and hands. With the help of Mrs. Portman, Miss Peregrine sewed one which fits perfectly. Most of the children were able to see Millard's facial characteristics for the first time. Of course, Millard doesn't like wearing it, he always says that it's too hot or itchy. But then he remembers that he wants to have a high school diploma and wants to go to university one day, so he pulls himself together and wears it in school. His teachers think that he has got a skin disease and therefore needs to protect his skin from outside influences like sunshine.

Both, the high school and elementary school are very understanding. As Millard is an excellent student, they were more than willing to accept him into their school. And the teachers of the twins were really friendly and sympathetic, impressed by how Miss Peregrine manages to care for so many children, some of them even with special needs.

When the children have finished their breakfast and have packed their school bags, Miss Peregrine does Claire's hair and walks them to their school. On their way to the elementary school they pass the bus stop where Fiona, Hugh and Bronwyn take their bus to their Middle school. After Miss Peregrine has brought the twins and Claire to their school, she walks back home.

There's usually a lot to do until her children return. Either she cleans the house, does the washing or goes to the supermarket. If there's still time she works in the garden. Yes, Fiona can grow all the plants, but Miss Peregrine still needs to pull up weeds or mow the lawn. Then there's also the desk work or the cooking she has to do. One of the things Miss Peregrine hates the most about the new time is the desk work, all this bureaucracy like paying the bills, administering the grants she gets for some of her children and filling out new application forms from time to time.

Seldom does she find time for herself. If there's really nothing else to do, she sits down and reads or goes for a walk. Very rarely does she change into her bird form and goes for a flight. If she has been really stressed she would fly as far away as she can and would only return when she is so exhausted that she can't even flap her wings anymore. Staying in the air for so long has always been relaxing for her in a strange way, she enjoys being on her own and only seeing the sky and the clouds around her. Unfortunately even this changed here in 2017. The sky is nearly as crowded and dangerous as the streets. A couple of times, Alma has barely avoided hitting flying objects like miniature airplanes or drones. And walking isn't much safer either. How many times has she nearly been hit by a car. No, Alma doesn't like this time very much. She thinks it's too dangerous and too loud. And that's the reason why she doesn't like her children being out there alone. But they don't mind, they're getting used to this new world far more quickly than she does. _I guess it's good like that. They have still their whole life to live here._

At 12.00 Miss Peregrine picks up her little ones from school. Usually she walks there or takes the bus. Mrs. Portman had offered to show her how to drive a car so that she could get a driver license but Alma didn't want to. The traffic was still too difficult for her and she rather spends more time walking than endangering her children while driving a car. Shortly after they had returned, Jake finished his driving course and is now able to drive wherever they needed to go. Something that proved really useful once his parents had left. He sometimes uses it to drive to school when their first lessons are cancelled as well.

Shortly after Miss Peregrine, Claire and the twins arrive at home, Fiona, Hugh and Bronwyn return as well. Usually they aren't really hungry, so Miss Peregrine prepares only small things, mostly sandwiches or sometimes a soup or a salad. At 1 o'clock Millard and Horace would come back from school and join them for lunch. Afterwards she sends her children to their rooms to do their homework, which she helps them with if they want to. But no one is allowed to play until Miss Peregrine has checked the homework. Then they would practice playing their musical instruments. Alma may have passed the teaching on to the schools but the music lessons ,she would still do on her own. She had always enjoyed hearing her children play music together. All of them had learned an instrument during their time with her. Until now, the little ones were only playing the recorder, but the older ones had changed to another instrument. They have their own little orchestra: Fiona and Bronwyn play the violin, Emma and Olive the flute, Horace the piano, Millard the clarinet and Enoch the cello. Hugh had really wanted to play the trumpet but since it didn't work with his bees, Miss Peregrine had convinced him to learn to play the cello instead, like Enoch does. While the younger children had to practice every day, the older ones weren't so enthusiastic anymore. But every Saturday they would all have to play together.

During the afternoon all the children are playing in the house or the garden, if the weather is good enough. At the moment it's usually raining but soon it will be summer and they can spend a lot of time outside. The winter had been really long and cold this year, but especially the younger children had enjoyed the little bit of snow they had for a few days. Some of them had never seen it before, only on photographs. They spent all of their free time in the garden, having snowball fights, building all kinds of snow sculptures or sledding. Even the older children had a lot of fun outside. Unfortunately Alma couldn't go and play with them, she had been lying in bed the whole week with a high fever. Because all of them weren't used to cold temperatures, they had all been sick during the winter, one after another. But by now their immune system has gotten used to the new environment, and no one has been sick in weeks. Mrs. Portman had warned Miss Peregrine that she should let her children get vaccinated because they weren't used to all the germs around here, but so far they had all been so busy getting used to everything that Miss Peregrine had forgotten to find a GP for them.

While they were all playing, Emma, Enoch, Olive and Jake would return from school as well. They have already eaten at school and therefore don't eat anything until dinner.

Jake had taken back his Smart Aid job and had managed to talk his uncles around, so Emma, Enoch and Olive also got a part time job. Miss Peregrine thought it a sensible idea, they should learn to have a job as early as possible now that they're going to live outside a loop. Besides, they needed the money. The other children at school are always going to the cinema to something else that costs money.

So when they are working they wouldn't return until half past 4. Because they shared one job only two of them would work at the same day.

At home they sometimes still need to do their homework or would play with their younger siblings or help Miss Peregrine preparing dinner. Fiona had laid out a vegetable garden again, so they are growing their own food, which had been quite difficult during the cold winter months but was now getting better every day.

At half past 6 they would all eat dinner before cleaning up together and meeting in the living room for a movie. They had decided to watch real movies instead of Horace's dreams for a change. There were so many new movies, they had never heard of. Miss Peregrine agreed, there would be a lot to learn from the movies as well.

Afterwards Miss Peregrine would tuck in the smaller children and the older ones could still spend some time in their rooms until 10 o'clock when Miss Peregrine would come and check if they are in bed and switch off the light. Then she would go to bed as well. The days are long and she has to get up early. Every evening she just hopes that she can sleep and won't have any nightmares, so she can rest before a new day starts again.


	2. Chapter 2 Part I

**Chapter 2**

 **Part I**

It's a beautiful day in march and Miss Peregrine sits at the dining table and drinks a cup of tea. After she had walked her kids to school she spent an hour in the garden, cleaning all the patches where Fiona grows her plants, sweeping the paths and removing the leaves from last winter. Now the garden looks perfect for spring, that is about to come and Alma takes a short break before she wants to do the washing. Especially her younger children often return from school with dirty clothes. After they had all arrived here, they went shopping but still haven't got many spare clothes. Therefore Alma has to wash them very often.

Suddenly the phone rings. Alma winces, she still hasn't got used to the noises of their new electrical appliances. She wonders who would call them. They don't know anyone except for Jake's family who wouldn't call on the landline. Now Alma is getting pretty scared. It can only mean that something had happened to one of her children. Quickly she places her cup on the table and hurries over to the phone. She frowns as she listens to the person talking on the other end. It's the elementary school, her little Claire seems to be sick and needs to be picked up. " I will be there in 15 minutes," Alma says, hangs up and runs out of the house, just barely grabbing her jacket on the way.

After only 10 minutes she turns the corner of the street and walks straight into the school. One of the teaching assistants has already seen her out of the window and meets her in the corridor. "Good morning, Miss Peregrine, this way," she says and leads her towards a door next to the secretary's office. Alma has never been there before. She has once talked to the principle in his office on the other end of the corridor and had been to see the classrooms of her children, nothing more.

As the woman opens the door, Alma storms inside. She sees her little girl lying on a lounger on the other side of the room. She really looks sick, her face is pale and her eyes are closed. As she hears the door open, Claire opens her eyes and sees Miss Peregrine running towards her. "Miss Peregrine!" she whispers, happy to see her ymbryne. "Claire," Alma answers and takes her little girls hand. "What's wrong?" As Claire closes her eyes, the assistant speaks up again. "She has been feeling unwell during her math's class and complained about having a sore throat. The teacher said she might have a fever so I took her out of class to lie down until you came," she explains. "Thank you," Alma says while touching Claire's forehead to check her temperature. She does indeed feel quite hot.

"Do you think you can stand up and walk home with me?" Miss Peregrine asks. Claire nods and stands up while Alma takes Claire's bag from the assistant and then helps Claire putting her jacket on. Claire takes Miss Peregrine's hand and together they leave the room, Miss Peregrine thanking the other woman once more before they leave the school.

After a few meters Claire walks more slowly until Miss Peregrine decides to pick her up, her little girl seems to be really sick and needs to lie down again as soon as possible. Claire leans into Miss Peregrine and rests her head on her shoulder. Alma tightens her hold because she doesn't want Claire to slip down and keeps on walking. Her youngest Child isn't so small anymore and after a couple of minutes, Alma has to stop to catch her breath again before she continues walking.

At home, Alma undresses Claire and tells her to go to bed. Then she puts the kettle on for tea and gets the thermometer out of the cabinet in the bathroom. With the thermometer and the tea with some honey in it she enters the bedroom of her youngest children. On the right side, there is the bunk bed of the twins and on the left side next to the walls are Claire's and Bronwyn's beds. Alma walks over and places the mug on the nightstand. Claire looks at her with her big, glassy eyes. "Hey sweetheart," Alma says," I brought you some tea. It will be good for your sore throat." Carefully she helps Claire sitting up and gives her the mug. "But be careful, it's still hot," she says while taking the thermometer to check Claire's temperature. It's a modern one which works with batteries and takes the ear temperature. At first she hadn't known how to use it but during the winter she was forced to learn it quickly as all her children had been sick. When it makes a beep, Alma removes it and checks the display. She sighs, Claire has indeed a fever but fortunately it's not too high. But how could she have missed it this morning, she had been talking to her children and walked them to school without noticing that Claire was sick. Alma shakes her head as she takes back the mug from Claire to put it back on the nightstand. "It still hurts, Miss P." Claire complains. "I know," Miss Peregrine answers brushing a strand of hair out of Claire's face. "You need to rest for a while and drink some more tea, then it will get better soon," Alma promises. Then she stands up, gives Claire a kiss on her forehead and leaves the room.

In the living room she takes a look at the timetables of her children, then she calls Jake on his cellphone, according to his schedule, he is now having a free period. Because his and Olive's first lesson started later than usual, he took the car this morning to drive to school.

Miss Peregrine asks him to pick up the twins from school because she has to stay with Claire and he says he will be there at 12 o'clock. Relieved she hangs up and goes to the bathroom to look for some medicine for Claire. There are a lot of things for nearly every illness. In the corner she finally finds some throat pastilles that are supposed to soothe the pain. She takes them out and reads the patient information leaflet. Accordingly a girl at Claire's age is allowed to take 3 per day. Alma decides to give her girl one later and goes back into the living room. She looks at the clock, it's already half past eleven and not much time left until the other children return. She wouldn't have enough time to do all the washing but starts to put at least half of it into the washing machine. Afterwards Alma starts to prepare some sandwiches for lunch. She had turned on the radio to stop herself from thinking too much but the modern music they play these days isn't really her cup of tea. She still doesn't understand why Claire didn't say anything this morning, she must have already felt unwell.

Shortly before Jake returns, Miss Peregrine places the plate with sandwiches on the dining table and checks on Claire again. She is still asleep, snuggled into her blanket. Her bed-sheets are pink with little butterflies on them . Claire saw them as they went shopping in their first week and simply had to have them.

Then Alma hears Jake opening the door and as she returns into the living room, she sees him entering with the twins. "How is she?" he asks concerned. Miss Peregrine tells him that Claire has just a sore throat and a moderate fever but will be alright pretty soon, then Jake leaves again. He has to hurry to be on time for his next class.

After they washed their hands Alma and the twins sit down together and eat some sandwiches.

The twins want to go into their room to start doing their homework but Alma stops them. She doesn't want them to disturb Claire and allows them to do them at the dining table, just this once.

Soon the other children arrive and sit down to eat as well. While they're doing their homework it is still quiet enough in the house but as they want to start playing Alma sends them outside. "Claire needs rest," she just says. Since it's the first sunny and warm day this year, none of them bother. The boys play football and try to teach the twins how to play as well and Fiona starts growing a few more plants around the house with Bronwyn watching her.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine cleans up the kitchen and sits down on the couch for a few minutes. Suddenly she hears a door and turns around to see who's coming. At seeing her little Claire standing there in the middle of the room with just her nightshirt on she goes to pick her up immediately. "What are you doing here?" she asks stroking Claire's cheek. Her face is flushed from the fever. "I wanted to see you," Claire explains pressing her doll to her chest. "Can I stay here with you, in your arm?" she begs. Alma coudnn't deny her any wishes when she isn't ill so how could she say no now. She walks over to the couch and sits down again, Claire lying in her arm. Then she grabs the blanket and covers Claire with it."How are you feeling?" Miss Peregrine inquires. Claire just shrugs. " My throat still hurts and I'm still tired," she says. Alma kisses her again. "Why haven't you said anything this morning?" Claire looks away. "I didn't want to worry you and I thought it will get better," she admits. Miss Peregrine shakes her head. "Oh Claire," she says and hugs her tighter. "You can tell me anything and don't worry about me, I'm just here to help you! Always!" Then she kisses Claire again. "Ok," Claire says and hugs her back. "Can you tell me a story?" she asks then. Alma laughs but begins to invent a story about a little princess. After a couple of minutes Claire is already asleep again.

Carefully, Alma stands up and carries Claire into her own room, then she goes to get Claire's blanket and cushion. She won't be able to keep the other children out of their room all day and tonight she would like to have Claire near her as well. After hanging out the laundry to dry, Miss Peregrine sits down at her desk and begins to sort some things out, every now and then looking over her shoulder to see Claire. She looks so adorable among the blankets in the big bed.

Miss Peregrine doesn't notice how the time flies until someone knocks at her door. It's Emma. "Are you home already?" Miss Peregrine asks amazed. "We've been home for over an hour," Emma points out. Alarmed Alma looks at her watch. "Oh my god! Why didn't you get me earlier, it's already half past 4," she exclaims and stands up. Together with Emma she leaves her room, closing the door silently but not before glancing at Claire once more. In the living room all the children are sitting around the coffee table playing a board game with Olive. Enoch and Jake have just returned from work and are in their room to finish their homework. "Hey Miss P.! How is Claire?" Bronwyn asks. "She's still unwell and needs to sleep a lot," Miss Peregrine explains before walking into the kitchen to start with the dinner preparations. Emma follows her. "What can I do?" she asks enthusiastic. Miss Peregrine turns around towards Emma and frowns. She still has problems accepting the help of her children. But considering that she's already late she nods at Emma and motions for her to peel the potatoes.

As Miss Peregrine finishes the meat, Emma goes over to the other children and tells them to stop playing and to go wash their hands before they serve the food. As Emma wants to sit down to eat she sees that Miss Peregrine is on her way towards her room again. "Miss P., don't you want to eat with us?" Emma asks concerned. Miss Peregrine just shakes her head. " I'd like to check on Claire again," she says and without another word she has already turned the corner and is out of sight. Emma sighs but decides to worry about it later. Together all the children eat while Miss Peregrine sits down next to Claire, who is sleeping restlessly. Carefully, Alma touches her forehead again, it seems that her fever has risen further. _This is going to be another long night._ As Claire starts tossing and turning again, Alma lies down next to her and puts her arm around her girl to calm her down a bit. It seems to work and Claire snuggles into her ymbryne. They both relax a little bit until Emma knocks and enters the room, a plate in her hand. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I brought you something to eat," she tries to explain but can see in her ymbryne's face that this doesn't meet with her approval. Cautiously Alma sits up, she had closed her eyes as well and isn't delighted at all to disturb Claire by moving her. "Emma, I've already told you that I don't want to eat and I don't appreciate you barging in here while Claire is sleeping," she whispers. Emma is a little bit shocked, she just wants the best for her ymbryne and is quite sad that she doesn't appreciate it. " And I've already told you that you need to eat," she answers resentful and then adds in a kinder voice: "Miss P., I understand that you want to be there for Claire and all of us but you need to take care of yourself from time to time. And I'm pretty sure that you haven't eaten much today. If you want to stay awake for the night I'd like you to eat something, please," Emma begs. Alma walks towards her, takes the plate and gives Emma a small hug. "Thank you," she whispers. "I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. You're probably right, I just need to eat something." "I can stay here and look after Claire while you eat, if you like," Emma offers. Alma nods and leaves the room with the plate in her hand. She's surprised to see the living room empty. All of her children are already in their rooms and everything has been cleaned up. Enjoying the silence she sits down at the table and begins to eat. Emma was right, she hadn't been eating and really needs to ingest something. Already feeling better she finishes the last bites and puts her plate in the dishwasher. She can hear some of her children in the bathroom, getting ready for the night. Before returning to her room, she looks in on all her children to say good night or ask if they need something. They are all fine and looking forward to watch a little movie with Olive before going to bed.

"How is she?" Alma asks Emma as she enters her room. "She's getting more restless, I think she might wake up again soon," Emma presumes. Nodding Miss Peregrine walks over to her bed and bends down to check Claire's temperature again. It's still high but not alarming, Alma just hopes that it will get better during the night. "Thank you, Emma, and not just for staying here but also for managing everything outside. I know that I can count on you, as well as Olive, Enoch and Jake, I hope you know that," she says turning her head. Emma smiles and strokes Miss Peregrine's back. "We do," she confirms. "Can I do anything else?" she asks. Miss Peregrine denies."I guess not. I'm going to bed as well soon and will be here if Claire needs anything. Besides you're doing already enough by tucking in the others. I hope you're still taking some time for yourself, though," Alma warns. "I am! There will be enough time once the younger ones are asleep," Emma confirms and leaves Miss Peregrine and Claire alone.

Just as Miss Peregrine gets ready for bed as well, Claire wakes up confused and nearly crying. Quickly, Alma runs towards her. "Hey, it's alright, I'm here," she says and hugs her little girl who seems to be slowly taking in her surroundings. "My throat hurts," she whines and a tear rolls down her cheek. "Sh..." Miss Peregrine tries to calm her down. " I will get you some tea and then you can have another pastille for the night". Alma kisses Claire's forehead which is still too hot and covered in sweat and leaves to get the promised tea.

"It hurts too much to swallow," Claire complains as Miss Peregrine has given her the tea. "Keep on drinking, sweetheart. It will get better, I promise," Alma tries to convince her. It seems to work and Claire finishes the cup of tea before gladly taking the small red pastille. As Miss Peregrine lies next to Claire she's already half asleep. Relieved, Alma closes her eyes as well, hoping for at least a few hours of sleep. All in all it's not a really bad night. Claire only wakes up once and can be calmed down again easily. But being used to having the whole bed to herself, Alma doesn't sleep too well and is still quite exhausted as her alarm goes off.

Carefully she frees herself from Claire's limbs and gets up. Quickly she gets ready and takes one last look at her little girl before she leaves the room. Claire still doesn't look good. Alma had hoped, she would feel better after the night but it seems that nothing has changed. Worried she goes into the kitchen and prepares the breakfast for her other children while drinking a cup of coffee. As the others sit at the table, eating, there's just one topic. "How is Claire?" they all want to know. Miss Peregrine explains that Claire is still too sick to go to school. "There might be a problem," Jake cuts in. "I won't be able to pick up the twins again. We'll have a biology test at half past 11 and I don't think I will be ready in only 20 minutes." "That's ok," Olive says. "I can pick them up. I will have a free period between 12.00 and 1.00. They'll just have to wait until I get there because I need to take the bus and that will take longer than Jake needed, going by car," Olive offers. "That would be great," Miss Peregrine exclaims relieved. "But would it be possible for one of you to bring them to school this morning as well?" she asks. "That's no problem! We can take the car again and I can give them a lift when we leave," Jake says. Miss Peregrine nods in agreement. "Ok, you've heard Jake," she says to the twins," now you need to hurry, they are leaving soon." Then she stands up and clears the table and gives everyone his lunchbox. "You'll be fine to walk to the bus stop alone?" she asks Fiona. "Of course!" Fiona confirms, taking her lunchbox. "But be careful when you cross the road," Miss Peregrine reminds them before they all leave for school.

The whole day Miss Peregrine spends the day torn between the housework, tending to Claire and caring for her other children as well. Claire's temperature doesn't seem to go down and she's still complaining about a sore throat. Alma makes her gargle with some sage tea and tries to cool her down with some wet towels but it doesn't help much. When Claire isn't sleeping she's whining a lot and doesn't want to leave her ymbryne's lap. Therefore Alma is really relieved when Emma and Olive return to help with the other kids and the dinner preparations, so she can stay with Claire in her room. As dinner is ready, Claire is asleep again so Alma decides to sit and eat with her other children, who are telling her stories about their day. She feels bad for not caring for them today but she can't be in two places at the same time. After dinner, she goes back to check on Claire as Emma follows her and asks if she can help her. "I could stay with Claire for the night, then you could get some sleep," she offers and then adds: "You do look like you'll need it, Miss P." But Miss Peregrine shakes her head. "That's really nice of you but you have school in the morning and need the sleep more than I do, besides, I'd really like to stay with Claire for the night," she answers and goes to check Claire's temperature again. "And you're really helping me enough by taking care of the others." Alma smiles at Emma while waiting for the thermometer to beep. Claire's fever has increased again which explains her restlessness. "I think she'll need to see a doctor," Emma suggests carefully. "I know," Alma sighs. "I thought it may get better but if she's still so sick tomorrow we'll have to think about it." Nodding Emma leaves the room.

It's a hard night for both, Miss Peregrine and Claire. Claire doesn't sleep a lot, she's feeling worse now with her fever and her throat hurting even more. Miss Peregrine isn't able to calm her down, she keeps tossing and turning and crying no matter what Alma tries. Then Claire starts refusing everything Alma gives her to drink, swallowing is just too painful and even the throat pastilles doesn't seem to be working any more. Miss Peregrine gets really desperate and doesn't know what to do anymore. So she just lies down, hugs Claire and tries singing to her or telling her stories until she finally falls asleep only a few hours before sunrise. But Alma doesn't sleep, she's worrying too much about the day that lays ahead. And when her alarm goes off she hasn't closed her eyes once. Quickly she turns it off before Claire wakes up and gets dressed to leave the room. In the living room she meets Emma. "What are you doing here?" Alma asks puzzled. Then she sees that Emma is already dressed and has started serving the breakfast. Smiling, Alma shakes her head. "You're wonderful, do you know that," she says and gives Emma a hug. " I know," Emma laughs and keeps on setting the table. "The coffee is in the kitchen, go and get yourself a cup and sit down on the couch for a minute. You look like you haven't slept at all," she says. Miss Peregrine nods and walks into the kitchen to get her coffee, she really needs it today. "How's Claire doing?" she hears Emma asking out of the living room. "Not good, She only fell asleep 2 hours ago and her temperature is still high." Alma sits down at the dining table and sips at her coffee. "Then we'll have to find a doctor, it's already Friday and we shouldn't risk waiting until the weekend. It will be even more difficult to find one then " Emma says as Jake and Enoch enter the room. Miss Peregrine nods. "I still haven't found the time to look for a GP for us though," she sighs. "Is this about Claire?" Jake asks and Emma nods. "I can give you the number of the pediatrician I went to as a kid," he offers, " his office is just a street away." "That would be great," Emma exclaims," wouldn't it, Miss P.?" "Yes, thank you Jake, but do you think we can get an appointment at such short notice?" "I guess so," Jake answers. "If it's urgent, they usually try to make time to see a patient," he explains. "I'll just give him a call and ask," he offers and goes into his room where his cellphone is. "See?"Emma says to Miss Peregrine," You don't have to manage everything on your own, we're all here to help you," and then she goes to wake the younger children.

As they are all getting ready and Emma and Miss Peregrine are preparing the lunchboxes Jake returns. "There's only a voice saying that the office is closed at the moment but there's a locum doctor. It's not a pediatrician though, just a normal GP," he reports. "That shouldn't matter," Emma says," He will be able to treat a throat infection as well." "I can call him now?" Jake offers again. "No, that won't be necessary, you have to eat something before school. I can do that later," Miss Peregrine denies. "Are you sure?" Emma asks, "We're still here to help." Miss Peregrine shakes her head. " Let me at least explain to you how you get to his office," Jake offers and sits down next to Miss Peregrine. While all the other children come and eat breakfast, Jake tells her which bus she has to take and where the entrance to the office is. He remembers being there once with his parents as well. Then he explains everything that Miss Peregrine needs to know about seeing a doctor in 2017.

Meanwhile Emma has cleaned up everything and helped the little ones to get ready for school so they are now ready to leave. Because Emma's class doesn't start until 9 today, she has offered to walk the twins to school and Enoch and Olive will pick them up as their lessons finish at 12 on Fridays. The twins will wait at their school again until they arrive."If you need help with anything or if you have another question just text or call me," Jake offers before they are all leaving.

Once alone again, Alma finishes her coffee and gets the phone and the snippet, on which Jake has scribbled the number. Then she dials and waits for an answer. It takes some time though. They must have a lot to do on a Friday, especially when they are treating all the patients of the other doctor in addition to their own. But after a couple of minutes a friendly woman answers the call and tells Alma that she can come over but may have to wait some time until the doctor is free to see Claire. Miss Peregrine accepts and hangs up before going into the bathroom to get ready. Then she enters her room and wakes Claire. It breaks her heart to do it now as her little girl is finally sleeping but she has to dress her properly before leaving. She finds a beautiful dress, a warm pantyhose and a warm jacket for her to put on. Then Alma braids Claire's hair and picks her up. Making her sick little girl walk the whole way on her own isn't an option. Claire isn't as whiny as last evening but seems to be dazed because of the fever. She lays her head into the crook of Alma's neck, closes her eyes and presses her doll to her chest.


	3. Chapter 2 Part II

**Part II**

Arriving at the office, Alma puts Claire down, takes her by the hand and enters through the front glass door. A friendly woman with blonde hair, dressed in a white dress sits behind a desk and greets them. Alma recognizes her voice, it's the same woman who answered her phone call. She knows exactly who they are and sends them into the waiting area with a form to fill out.

The waiting room is crowded with sick elderlies. If you're not already sick, you definitely will be once you leave this place. But there are some younger children as well, possibly sent here from the same doctor as they were. Alma greets them, sits down with Claire on her lap and starts to fill out the form. After a short time the friendly woman returns to get the form back. She tells them that they still have to wait some time and leaves again, so Alma picks up one of the magazines laying on the table and starts reading, Claire dozing off on her lap.

A lot of times the door opens and closes again as new people enter or some are called out. After half an hour Claire begins to get restless again, so Alma puts down the magazine and starts to calm her down. Because nothing works she gets up with her and walks over to one corner of the room where some other children were already playing with some toys. Shyly Claire joins them but never letting go of Miss Peregrine's hand, so Alma goes into a kneeling position next to her little girl.

After one hour the door opens once more and another young woman, dressed in white clothes calls them to come with her. Miss Peregrine picks up Claire and follows the lady into an exam room. "The doctor will be with you shortly," she says and leaves them alone. Alma looks around, Claire still sitting on her lap. It's a small but bright room, in front of her is a desk with a computer and a printer. On the other side of the room is a bookshelf with lots of medical books, to her right is a gurney and to her left a big window. Suddenly the door behind her opens and a tall man enters the room. Alma turns her head, regarding him thoroughly. Claire hides herself deeper in Miss Peregrine's arms. Alma has to admit that the doctor is pretty good-looking. He's got dark hair, a three-day beard and has got bright blue eyes. Of course he's dressed in white as well. Smiling he approaches her and greets her with a firm handshake. " I guess you're Miss Peregrine," he says in a deep, calming voice. "And this...". He bends down towards Claire. "...must be Claire," he says while stroking Claire's back which is still turned towards him. "I'm Doctor Sands," he introduces himself and takes place behind his desk. "I heard that you have a bit of a sore throat," he addresses Claire who finally turns her head to look at him still holding on tight to her ymbryne. Timidly she nods. "Maybe you could sit down on the gurney so I can take a look at it," he suggests. Immediately Claire is back to hiding in her ymbryne's arms."I'm sorry," Miss Peregrine says. "Claire, please let the doctor see your throat, he just wants to help you," she tries to convince her girl who just keeps shaking her head. "No Problem!" said Mr. Sands. "How about you stay on your mother's lap and just turn around so I can have a look at you, " he offers. "She's not my mother," Claire says turning to face him. "Oh, is she not?" he asks confused, looking at Miss Peregrine. " I'm sorry, I just thought..." "It's alright," Miss Peregrine cuts him off. "I'm her foster mother but she has been staying with me nearly her whole life," she tries to explain while Claire nods. " I see," Mr. Sands answers. "Then you must have been a really lucky girl to get such a lovely foster mum," he says and smiles at Miss Peregrine who shyly averts her gaze. "Maybe you could sit down on the gurney with her," he addresses her directly, still smiling. Miss Peregrine nods and stands up with Claire in her arms. As they sit down she turns Claire around so the doctor can take a look at her. After he got his tools he kneels down in front of them and asks Claire to open her mouth. Uncertain she looks back at Miss Peregrine who smiles at her and nods. Encouraged Claire turns around and opens her mouth as wide as she can. Carefully he presses Claire's tongue down with a spatula and points his light inside her mouth to get a better look. " Oh, I can see what's bothering you," he says and stands up again. "You've got a bad throat infection," he explains even though Claire's got no idea what he's talking about. "She's got a fever, doesn't she?" he asks Miss Peregrine, who nods. Mr. Sands goes to get his thermometer and takes Claire's ear temperature. "It's not too high," he says. "How long has she been like this?" he inquires further. "It started two days ago and I thought it will get better but it didn't and instead she got even worse so I thought it best to come here," Alma explains. "It's alright, you've done everything right," Mr. Sands confirms. "We don't want the little ones to take too many meds. But I think that we've unfortunately reached that point now. She really needs antibiotics to get better otherwise this can have severe consequences". Miss Peregrine nods even though she didn't understand everything. The doctor can see the insecurity in her eyes. "She will be fine," he reassures her. "This infection can be contagious, though. Do you have any more children," he asks. Alma nods, unsure of what will come next. "Have any of them shown any symptoms ?" Alma shakes her head. "That's good! But I think it's best to keep her separate from the other children for another day," Mr. Sands advises. Alma nods again. "I've already taken her to my room for the last two days," she explains to him. "That's good. But remember that you can get sick as well," he adds. "To be honest, you look a bit off-color as well," Mr. Sands points out. "I'm fine," Alma reassures him. "I haven't slept well the last two nights, that's all." "Still! Since you're already here, I'd like to take a look at you as well, just to be on the save side," he insists and gets his tools ready again. "I don't think it will be necessary," Miss Peregrine wants to say but is cut off by Claire. "You said I had to open my mouth earlier so you have to do it, too," she says. Miss Peregrine rolls her eyes but complies and opens her mouth for Mr. Sands. "That looks good," he says," no infection!" He removes the spatula and his little lamp. "I'd still like to take your temperature, though," he says. "Why? You've just said that everything is fine," Alma argued. "Because I'm a thorough guy, what kind of doctor would I be otherwise?," he jokes. "Besides, I think Claire would really like to do it," he says and winks at Claire who nods eagerly. Carefully Mr. Sands lifts Claire up from Miss Peregrine's lap and places Claire next to her on the gurney. Then he hands her the thermometer and shows her how to do it. Together they take Miss Peregrine's ear temperature. "Gently," Mr. Sand reminds Claire who was poking into Miss Peregrine's ear. After the beep Mr. Sands take the thermometer back and insects the display. "No fever," he confirms. "What a surprise!" Miss Peregrine says sarcastically, Claire climbing back onto her lap, while Mr. Sands puts his tools back in the cabinet behind his desk. As he turns around again he's still smiling. "Ok, I will give you a package of tablets of which she has to take one every six hours until it's empty. It's really important that you stick to the time interval and that she doesn't stop taking them even if she feels better, she has to take them all," he warns. Miss Peregrine nods, now more resolutely. "Has she ever swallowed pills before?" Mr. Sands asks while going back to his desk and getting a package containing 10 big white tablets. "Then it may be a problem," he says on seeing Miss Peregrine shaking her head. "These are quite big and not easy for children to swallow," he explains. "We'll find a way," Miss Peregrine assures him, thinking of a way to make Claire take them. If nothing works she will try to give her the medicine through her backmouth. Then she takes the package he hands her and says "Thank you." "You're welcome," Mr. Sands answers. " She should be feeling better pretty soon. Give her a lot to drink and let her sleep as much as possible. Preferably you lie down with her and catch up on your sleep as well, " Mr. Sands suggests. "We'll see," Miss Peregrine says. "May I ask how many children you have?" he asks. "You don't want to know...," Miss Peregrine laughs. "Then I wouldn't have asked, would I?" Mr. Sands says, waiting for an answer. "12," Alma admits shyly. "12? Oh my god. And they are all..." "Foster children," Miss Peregrine finishes and nods. "Wow! No wonder that you're so exhausted. I hope you have a supporting partner," he guesses. "No, no partner," Alma answers, shaking her head. Mr. Sands stares at her wide-eyed. "You're kidding me, right?" Alma shakes her head. "Wow! You have my respect. How do you manage?" he asks curious. "It's not a big deal," Alma answers timidly. "I've got a lot support from the older ones," she explains. "I'm still truly impressed," Mr. Sands says again and walks back to his desk. Seeing that they are done, Alma stands up again, with Claire on her arm. Slowly she walks towards the door as Mr. Sands comes back to hold the door open for them.

" If her fever hasn't gone down by tomorrow, you should come again. And if you or another child get sick or you've got more questions or don't know what to do, feel free to call me any time," he says while handing Alma his card, smiling at her. "Thank you!" Alma says grateful, takes the card and shakes his hand for goodbye.

Arriving at home, Alma sets down Claire at the dining table and gets a glass of water before she opens the package and takes out one tablet. She sits down next to Claire. "Listen Claire, this is really important," she says. You need to swallow this. I know this will be really hard. I can break it in half but it will still be big. I guess it will be best if you just concentrate on drinking this glass of water like you're really, really thirsty and don't think about this tablet in your mouth ok." Claire nods unsure and opens her mouth so Miss Peregrine can place one half of the tablet in her mouth. Then Alma hands her the glass and helps her drink. Claire tries her best but isn't able to swallow it. Couching and spluttering she spits out the water with the tablet into Miss Peregrine's hand. Alma hasn't expected it to work immediately but knows that it's going to get harder the more times Claire tries. Claire has already tears in her eyes from the effort. "I'm sorry, Miss P.," she whines," But it hurts too much." Of course she could try it with her backmouth but she would do that only as a last resort. "I've got an idea," she says. "I'll get you some of your favorite juice, ok?" she suggests. Claire nods wiping away the rest of the water off her face with her sleeve. As Miss Peregrine returns she hands Claire the glass with a lot of juice. "I had to choose the mild one, the other juice would be too painful on your throat," Alma explains. "Just think about the taste of this juice and enjoy drinking all at once," she advises. "Just relax and don't think about the tablet, ok?" Claire nods and tries again while Miss Peregrine is rubbing circles on her back. It takes a few attempts and Claire can feel the tablet dissolving and a bitter taste starts to form in her mouth. She knows she has to do it now before it gets even worse. Determined she takes a really big gulp and revels in the fruity taste. After swallowing, the piece in her mouth seems to be gone. She smiles at Miss Peregrine. " I did it," she says still coughing. Alma gives her her beautiful smile. "I didn't even feel it, just the big amount of juice in my mouth," Claire says amazed. "You did really good," Alma says proudly. "Do you think you can handle the second one?" Claire nods carefully and Alma goes to fill up her glass again. "Is the juice ok with your sore throat," she asked concerned while placing the glass in front of Claire. "It's stinging a bit," Claire admits," but it's a lot better than the taste of just the tablet." Claire opens her mouth and pokes out her tongue for Miss Peregrine to place the second half on. Then she concentrates and gulps down a lot of juice again. By now she knows how to relax and she wants the tablet gone before she can taste it again. It works and smiling Claire puts the glass back on the table. "Well done! Don't you want to finish the juice," Alma asks. Claire shakes her head. "It still hurts too much," Alma guesses and Claire gives her a nod. Gently, Miss Peregrine strokes Claire's cheek, she's still flushed and feels quite hot. "It will get better now," she promises and gets up to clean up the mess on the table. As Claire has recovered from the ordeal, Miss Peregrine brings her in her room again. By the time Claire falls asleep it's already a quarter to 11.

During the last two days Miss Peregrine has neglected the housework completely and has a lot to catch up on. But after last night she can barely keep her eyes open anymore. The action of this morning has kept her awake but now she feels how exhausted she really is. She has to think about the friendly doctor from before and smiles. He knew exactly what to say to take away her worries and he was really good with Claire. Alma wonders why he isn't a pediatrician when he's so good with kids. But she's really happy that by accident they ended up in his office and that she has now found a perfect GP for them all. She may even take his advise and lay down with Claire until Enoch and Olive arrive with the twins. It only takes 2 minutes from her sitting down on the couch to her falling asleep.

As Alma opens her eyes again, it's already afternoon. Confused she looks around. She chose the couch to sleep because she wanted to awake when her children arrive but now she has overslept. How did she not wake up or have her kids never arrived here. Alarmed she jumps to her feet and searches all the rooms but can't find anyone. Then she finds a note on the dining table. It's from Olive, saying that her children have gone to the playground of the neighborhood. Relieved, Alma sits down. She must have really needed the sleep, otherwise she wouldn't have slept 5 hours straight. She walks into her room to check on Claire. She's still sleeping peacefully, so Miss Peregrine decides to let her sleep another 20 minutes until it's time for her next tablet. Meanwhile Alma starts with the preparations for their dinner, they will have some chicken, potatoes and some mixed salad. At 25 minutes past 4 she goes to wake Claire. Sleepily Claire follows her into the kitchen. "How are you feeling?" Miss Peregrine asks. Claire shrugs. "I don't know, I'm still tired and my throat still hurts but maybe it's a little bit better," she not so much states as asks. "It will get a lot better soon," Miss Peregrine answers and gets the medicine and some juice. At seeing her return, Claire scrunches her nose. "I know it's not pleasant," Miss Peregrine says compassionately. "But it's important, you know that, right?" Claire nods and takes the glass and half of the tablet. With one gulp it's gone and with another the second half as well. "You're really brave!" Alma says and gives Claire a kiss on her forehead. "When you're better again you deserve a treat." "A treat? What kind of treat?" Claire asks interested. "Take your pick. You can spend your free time thinking of what you like to have or do, ok?" Miss Peregrine suggests. Claire smiles and begins to think while Alma puts away the glass and the tablets. "Are you hungry?" she asks as she returns. Claire shakes her head. "Not really." "But you need to eat something to get better, darling," Miss Peregrine explains. "How about I make you some Pumpkin soup, your favorite one?" she asks. "Maybe," Claire answers. "But only if I can get some dessert later," she debates. "We'll see about that later," Miss Peregrine says and goes towards the kitchen to start cooking. "What do you want to do until dinner is ready," she asks Claire on her way. Claire follows her hugging Alma's legs. "I want you to sit down with me and tell me another story," she whines. Miss Peregrine turns towards her and picks her up. "But I have to prepare dinner," she says. "The others will come soon and they will be really hungry. What do you think about helping me?" Claire shakes her head, leaning into Miss Peregrine's chest. "I'm still very tired," she complains rubbing her eyes with her hand. "I can imagine," Alma replies. "But you shouldn't sleep again, otherwise you won't be able to sleep tonight ok?" Miss Peregrine gives Claire another kiss and sets her down on the worktop. "You can sit here and survey my work, ok?" Claire nods and Miss Peregrine begins to cut the meat.

As they can hear the front door opening, Alma has finished preparing the meat, peeling the potatoes and was already cooking the pumpkin. Briefly she leaves the stove and walks with Claire in her arms into the living room.

All of the children come rushing towards them, happy to see their ymbryne and Claire again. "How was your day?" Miss Peregrine asks them and they began telling her about everything until Olive says. "You can tell Miss P. about it later, now go wash your hands and then you can play until dinner is ready." All of them run into the bathroom except for Olive and Enoch. "How are you doing?" Enoch asks Claire, patting her head. "I swallowed two huge pills today and Miss P. said I could have a treat when I'm better, Claire boasts. "Is that so?" Olive asks smiling and looking at Miss Peregrine. "Yes, Claire has been a really brave girl today," Alma confirms. "Well done!" Enoch adds. "Do you wanna come with me and tell me everything about it?" Enoch asks and as Claire nods he takes her from Miss Peregrine's arm and goes with her to the couch, leaving Olive and Miss Peregrine to their own. "Can I help you with the preparations for dinner?" Olive asks while following Miss Peregrine back into the kitchen. She washes her hands at the sink and rolls up her sleeves. "Oh Olive, you don't have to, you've already done enough," Miss Peregrine sighs. "It's ok Miss P. I want to help, so please let me."

Alma nods and together they prepare the salad while Miss Peregrine has an eye on the soup as well. "I didn't hear you coming home," Alma says after a short moment of silence," why didn't you wake me?" "Enoch saw you sleeping as he entered and told us to be very quiet. We didn't want to wake you, Emma had told us that you didn't sleep last night, so we thought you could use some more sleep. Therefore we brought our bags inside, grabbed some ingredients for sandwiches and made a picnic outside while we waited for the others to come home," Olive explains. Miss Peregrine smiles at her. "Thank you! You're just so wonderful. What did I do to deserve you all," Alma says grateful. "Nothing," Olive answers simply," It's the other way round. You're doing so much for us, every day. It's just normal that we try to give it back to you sometimes." Olive winks at her ymbryne. "Are Emma and Jake still working?" Alma asks. Olive nods. "They said they would be here for dinner, though."

As Olive and Enoch were setting the table Emma and Jacob arrived and after bringing their bags in their rooms and washing their hands they join them in the living room.

Soon all the children sit around the dining table, enjoying a lovely dinner. Claire was sitting on Miss Peregrine's lap, she was still a bit clingy, a sign that she was still feeling unwell, and spoons a bit of her soup. They were all talking, sharing their stories of the day. Of course most of the children, especially the older ones, are really interested in Miss Peregrine's and Claire's doctor's appointment. Both of them tell the others about the crowded waiting room, the friendly doctor and the medicine he gave Claire. "And then he looked into Miss Peregrine's throat as well and I was allowed to take her temperature," Claire reports proudly and all the children laugh. "The doctor seems to be nice," Olive comments. "How old do you think he is?" Miss Peregrine shrugs. "I don't know, I guess he's something around 40, but he definitely appears younger." "Do you think he's competent," Jake inquires. "Absolutely!" Miss Peregrine replies. "So you've found us a GP?" Emma asks. "I think so. He's really nice and good with kids and his office isn't too far away. We'll have to see if he accepts a bunch of new patients, though" Miss Peregrine jokes. All the children keep on eating their dinner, so does Miss Peregrine, as best as possible with Claire still sitting on her lap. Claire's getting more agile during dinner, talking and laughing with the twins, who are sitting on both sides of her.

"Claire seems to be feeling better," Emma says to Miss Peregrine. "I think so. But I want her to stay with me tonight again and I still have to check her temperature later," Alma replies. "Of course. And if you need help with anything, just tell me," Emma offers before getting up and clearing the table as everyone has finished eating. Miss Peregrine stands up, putting Claire down on her chair again and helps Emma. As they return Miss Peregrine tells them to go change their clothes and get ready for bed before they can all watch a movie together. Before they all go into their rooms again, Alma stops them once more. "I wanted to say thank you to you all, that you supported me during these days and of course for today. It seems that I really needed the sleep. I hope you enjoyed your day nonetheless and I'm sorry that you couldn't be inside and the ones of you that had homework to do, I hope it's not too bad that you have to do it tomorrow," she says winking at them.

All of the children enjoy watching the movie together. Because they don't have to get up early the next morning, they chose a long one. After the first half, Claire falls asleep in Miss Peregrine's arm again, who gets up and brings her to her bed. Alma decides to take her temperature later but for now just places her hand on Claire's forehead, which seems to be less hot. At half past ten she will have to wake her up again to give her the antibiotics, until then she can sleep here without the noise of the other children and the television.

After the movie, all of the children go to bed. For the first time in days, Alma can tuck in the little ones again and checks on everyone before they go to sleep.

Now alone, she tidies the living room and sits down with a glass of red wine. She doesn't drink often but from time to time she enjoys a glass of wine in the evening when she's alone. Relaxed she leans back into the couch and takes some deep breaths. After the last days it feels really good to just sit here, doing nothing. She still has half an hour left before she needs to wake Claire again. She plans on giving the tablet to her in bed, so that she doesn't get wide awake and will fall asleep again quickly. Taking another sip, Alma closes her eyes for moment, just reveling in the silence.

Suddenly the ringing of their telephone makes her jump. The shrill sound still surprises her every time. Quickly she hurries to answer it before one of her children awakes, no time to wonder who might be calling them. Astonished she takes in the voice on the other end. It is Doctor Sands. He says he's sorry to bother them so late but he had another emergency until now and just wanted to ask how Claire was doing and that he hopes that Miss Peregrine had gotten some rest as well. Alma tells him, that it's fine because she is still awake, waiting to give Claire the next tablet, and that she thinks that Claire's really better but will check her temperature again when she's awake. Then she reassures him that she has slept as well and that no other child has gotten sick. Reassured Mr. Sands wishes her a good night after insisting on paying them a home visit the next day to check on Claire and taking a look at all her children, just in case. Alma fails to refuse his offer and wishes him a good night as well instead. Hanging up she sighs but needs to smile anyway. _What a man...He's really a caring doctor. If he's being like that to all his patients, he won't have a spare minute in his life._

Still thinking about this charming Mr. Sands, Alma gets ready for bed before waking Claire. Fortunately Claire swallows the two halves dozily and keeps on sleeping afterwards. Alma quickly checks her temperature which has gone down further, sets the alarm for 4.30 and then lies down next to her sleeping little princess. Relieved that Claire is really on her way to recovery she falls asleep quickly, her last thought about how it will be if Dr. Sands really comes tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 2 Part III

**Hi everyone! Thank you for reading my new story and for all the reviews. I will try my best to write about all the things you wish for, one after another. So please be patient. I hope you will like my next chapters and as always, I'm open for any suggestions.**

 **Another thing: I know that there is another fanfiction, where Miss Peregrine meets a doctor as well. It's a fanfiction I really like and I don't intend copying it. It just went really well with the story and happened while I was writing, besides I really like doctors.**

 **Part III**

The next morning all the children sleep late, enjoying not to have get up for school. For a change Miss Peregrine had a restful night and awakes to the rays of the morning sun. It's already 9.30, so after relaxing some more minutes, she decides to get up and start with the breakfast preparations. After arriving in America and deciding that all of the children will go to school they had agreed on sleeping as long as everyone wanted on the weekends, at least until 11 o'clock. Alma gets dressed and does her hair before she leaves the sleeping Claire alone in her room and goes into the kitchen. The night was really peaceful, Claire was asleep the whole time and as she woke her to take the antibiotics, Claire had swallowed the whole tablet still half asleep.

As Alma makes some porridge and fries some beacon and eggs the other children wake up and gather in the living room, one after another. At 10.20 Miss Peregrine wakes up Claire to give her another tablet. Claire doesn't remember swallowing the whole tablet last night but wants to try it again anyway. She succeeds and jumps joyfully out of bed. Miss Peregrine has to stop her to take her temperature again. It's now only slightly elevated. Then Alma takes her little girl into the bathroom to give her a bath.

As they return into the living room all the children are already awake, dressed and are playing together with Olive and Enoch. Emma and Jake are finishing what Miss Peregrine started, setting the table and serving the food. While they are eating, they discuss their plans for the weekend. Normally they would go on a trip to the beach, for a walk in the woods or Jake would show them around town. But since Claire isn't completely fit again, Miss Peregrine doesn't want her to be away for so long. Besides, they needed to stay at home anyway, when Mr. Sands comes.

"First of all I want you to do your homework, children. And then I'd like you to practice your instruments, we've all neglected a few things during the last days," Miss Peregrine says and many children begin to moan.

She ignores them and continues: "And then there's another thing I'd like to discuss with you," she starts. "You all remember us telling you about Dr. Sands." Most of the children nod. " He called last night to see how Claire was and offered to do a house call today." All of the children begin to talk to each other, some look confused, the older ones more amused. "But why? Claire seems to be feeling a lot better," Emma asks. Miss Peregrine shrugs. "I don't know, I didn't think it was necessary either but he insisted. I guess, he's just a really passionate doctor. Furthermore he said that it might be possible that one of us could have become infected as well and that it might take some time until we would show any symptoms. So he said he would take a look at us all," Alma informs them.

The children seem to be even more confused now, some of them begin to argue, they have never liked seeing a doctor. Emma, Olive, Jake and Enoch begin a discussion. To them it doesn't seem logical at all. How will the doctor be able to see if they're sick even before they feel it themselves. Emma and Olive start to whisper, just to grin afterwards.

Miss Peregrine silences them. "It's ok children, it's just a precaution and it won't hurt," she promises. "I don't know when he will come but for now you can go and do as I've told you". The children stand up and leave for their rooms to do their homework. Even Claire follows, with the help of the twins she tries to catch up on the things she has missed during her absence. Only Emma and Olive stay behind to help Miss Peregrine with the dishes.

"And you said he's really nice?" Emma asks casually. Miss Peregrine nods. "Yes, I thought so, but you will be able to see for yourselves later," she says and ends the conversation. Disappointed Emma and Olive resume their work. "You can go into your rooms as well now," Miss Peregrine calls out of the living room. " I will finish here and then I will be taking a shower if somebody needs me," she informs them. Emma and Olive look at each other, smirking , and go into their room where Fiona is already doing her homework.

After Alma has taken a shower she returns to the living room and starts to prepare everything for their music lessons. Once she has tuned the instruments of her children she does some warm up exercises on the piano before playing a few etudes. One after another, her children finish with their homework and join her in the living room. Everyone practices a bit on his own until they're complete. The twins and Claire are the first, they play a musical piece written for three recorders and are accompanied by Jake on the guitar. Miss Peregrine has to interrupt them a few times to tell them what they could do better or because they had made too many mistakes. Next were Fiona, Bronwyn, Millard, Hugh and Horace. Miss Peregrine had adapted most of the sheet music they use for their special instrumentation. Sometimes they have to repeat a passage because they always tend to drift apart with their tempo. Last but not least, Emma Olive and Enoch finish with a sonata in three movements, accompanied by Miss Peregrine on the piano. After everyone has put his instrument back in its place, they are allowed to go play outside. "Don't forget to put on your jackets," Miss Peregrine reminds them. "It's still cold outside and I don't want another sick child. And Millard can you please put on your overall. I don't know when Mr. Sand will turn up and once he's here, I'm not sure that you will get the opportunity to dress before he sees you." Millard moans.

"What are we doing with Millard anyway?" Enoch asks. "We can't let the doctor look into his mouth, can we? There will be nothing for him to see," he points out. "He's right," Emma says, "that can get a real problem." "I will find an excuse," Miss Peregrine reassures them," Now go and play." The children leave and Millard goes into his room. "Claire, sweetheart," Alma says as she sees her youngest following the others. " I know that you want to play with them but I don't want you to go outside while you still have a fever," she tries to explain. Alma sees how sad Claire is but doesn't change her decision. "How about you stay with me and we can draw some pictures," Emma offers. Immediately Clare smiles again and takes Emma by the hand to lead her into her room. Being pulled away, Emma smiles at Miss Peregrine who smiles back and mouths "Thank you". As Emma has nearly disappeared, Alma calls after them: "Emma, can you please braid Claire's hair for later, just in case?" She just hears a "yes" before the door closes behind them.

Alma decides to use the time to do some housework. She puts the rest of the laundry into the washing machine and starts cleaning the living room and the corridor. She clears away some toys, vacuums and organizes her children's shoes and jackets next to the front door. While dusting all the surfaces in the living room, she hears the doorbell. Quickly she puts away the wiping cloth and hurries towards the door, fixing her hair on the way.

Taking a deep breath, Alma opens the door and finds a smiling Dr. Sands looking back at her. "Good afternoon," he says and shakes her hand. He looks as charming as yesterday and holds his doctor bag in his left hand. "Nice to see you again," he adds. "Likewise," Miss Peregrine answers. "It's really kind of you to come here but you really shouldn't have," she says and holds the door open for him. He enters and looks around. As he sees the shoes in the corner he looks back at Alma, questioning. "You can leave your shoes on if you like," she says and leads the way into the living room. "It's a lovely house," Mr. Sands remarks. "But isn't it a bit small for so many children?" He lets his gaze drift outside the glass door towards the garden where he can see several children play. "The children have to share their rooms but so far it's enough," Alma explains. "And I'm quite happy like this, there's always a lot more work with a big house," she jokes. Mr. Sands laughs but gets serious again. "Yes, of course. I always forget that you have to do everything on your own," he says. "Not completely," Alma corrects him. "My children help me with a lot of things." "I hope so," Mr. Sands replies. "But by the looks of it, they have, since we last met. You look a lot more rested and it emphasises your beauty even more, if I may say so." "Thank you," Miss Peregrine says, blushing a bit. "Please sit down," she continues and points at the couch. "Can I get you anything? A cup of tea or coffee?" she asks. "A glass of water will be fine, thank you," he replies and sits down. "Ok. I'll be back shortly," Alma says and walks in the direction of the kitchen. Before entering, though, she opens the door to Claire's room. "Dr. Sands is here now," she tells Emma and Claire. "Emma, could you please take Claire to him, I'll just call the others and get something to drink." Emma nods, stands up and takes Claire by her hand while Miss Peregrine goes into the garden. "Children!" she calls. "The doctor has arrived. Please go inside, wash your hands and brush your teeth. And then I want you to introduce yourself properly, understood?"

Emma and Claire walk towards Mr. Sands and Emma introduces herself, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Emma, you must be one of the children who help a lot around here" he says while he's giving Claire a high-five as a greeting. "Yes, I guess so," Emma answers shyly and takes a seat next to him with Claire on her lap. Meanwhile all the children come running through the living room towards the bathroom saying hello to the newcomer on their way.

"And I see you're feeling a lot better, Claire," Mr. Sands says and looks at her. "But I'm still going to take another look at your throat, ok?" he asks while getting his tools out of his bag. Claire leans back into Emma who takes Claire's hand to calm her down, feeling that she is a bit tense. As Dr. Sands looks into Claire's mouth, Miss Peregrine returns with a glass and a water carafe, setting it down on the table. "Thank you," Mr. Sands says, removing his instruments. "And?" Miss Peregrine asks him. "It's a lot better. I can still see the inflammation but it has subsided a lot," he explains. "How's her temperature?" "Nearly gone," Miss Peregrine answers. "That's good, so the antibiotics seem to work really well and we don't have to try another one," he says relieved. "How did it go with the tablets anyway?" "Really good," Miss Peregrine reports. "Yes!" Claire barges in. "I swallowed the whole one!" "Really?" Mr. Sands asks impressed and Claire nods. "That's really good, Claire, not many children your age can do that." Claire smiles proudly. "So I guess you're done, Claire. You still have to take the tablets until the package is empty, though," he reminds her and Claire jumps off Emma's lap and nods. Then she runs towards Miss Peregrine snuggling up to her. Miss Peregrine lifts Claire up onto her lap and looks at Dr. Sands. "Is there anything else I need to mind?" she asks. Mr. Sands shakes his head. "I don't think so," he says," just make sure she takes the antibiotics and then she will be fine. She may still feel a bit tired for some days but that should subside as well." Miss Peregrine nods, stroking Claire's back. "Can we examine Miss P. again?" Claire asks excited. "I don't know, Claire. I've already looked at her yesterday, so if she's still feeling alright, I don't need to. Or have you developed any symptoms?" he asks Miss Peregrine. " No, I'm still fine," she says, laughing about her girl's enthusiasm. Claire looks disappointed. "But that's good, isn't it Claire?," Mr. Sands says. "You wouldn't want her to be sick, would you?" Claire shakes her head. "You can help me examining your siblings, though," he suggests, which makes Claire smile again. Shyly she looks back at her ymbryne. "Go on," she says smiling and puts Claire back on the ground while the other children slowly return and start to introduce themselves to Mr. Sands. Then they sit down next to Emma on the couch waiting to be seen by the doctor except for Millard who sits down next to Miss Peregrine. While taking a look at everyone he talks and jokes with them all. Claire is allowed to hold his instruments for him. Then he reaches the twins. "What's the deal with you two?" he asks. "They are special," Miss Peregrine steps in. "They were born with a rare disease and they don't talk either," she explains to him. "I see, " he answers and continues examining them like the rest of the children. As he finishes, he pats their heads. "They are all fine," he reports and turns towards Miss Peregrine. "Oh, I've forgotten someone," he says on seeing Millard next to her. "No, he's fine," Miss Peregrine says before he can approach Millard. "He has got a skin disease and has to see his doctor regularly and they always check his blood for infections as well, Miss Peregrine explains. "Ah ok," Mr. Sands says, goes back to his bag and holds it open for Claire to put his instruments in. "So you need to wear this suit all of the time? I bet that sucks," he says to Millard, who nods. "It' s too warm and itchy," he complains. "I bet," Dr. Sands says again. "Do you have to wear it because of the sunlight or because you're skin is too sensitive and reacts to other clothes?" he asks curious, he had heard about diseases like that but wasn't a dermatologist. "Both," Millard answered a bit unsure, looking back at his ymbryne for support. "I'm sorry," Mr. Sands says quickly. "I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable, I was just curious." He turns towards Miss Peregrine. "So, my job is done here, everyone is healthy," he reports. "That's good to hear," Miss Peregrine says relieved. "And I don't know how to thank you for sacrificing your Saturday to come here." "There's really no need!" he plays down the issue. "It was my pleasure! Besides, I'm really happy to have met all of your lovely children." He smiles at her." I'm glad you think so," Miss Peregrine says. "Because we're new here in town and still need to find a GP and I thought, since you already know us..." "Of course," Mr. Sands answers before she can finish her question," I'd love to admit you to my clientele." "Thank you, that would be great," Alma says."I've already worried about finding one and now it happened nearly on its own," she laughs. They both smile at each other while the other children are already talking again.

"Oh, I've nearly forgotten something," he exclaims and rummages in his bag. Then he pulls out a small package and hands it to Miss Peregrine. "I've brought you this. In case you ever have trouble getting enough sleep again. It's herbal-only and will at least help you sleeping through the night," he explains. "Oh, thank you," Alma stammers. "That's really kind of you and again so much more than I could expect." "You're welcome," he says, letting his fingers run through his hair. "Then I guess I'm done here," he says and closes his bag, ready to go.

"Thank you again Mr. Sands, I really don't know what to say," Miss Peregrine repeats. "Don't worry, it was no trouble at all and please call me Ethan, all of you" he says. "Ok," Miss Peregrine says, again blushing a bit," then I'm Alma." She holds his hand out for him to shake, which he does, smiling. "Why don't you stay a little longer? The least we can do is invite you for dinner since you've done so much for us," Miss Peregrine adds.

At that all of the children stop talking and look up expectantly. They would love him to stay longer, he was really funny. Emma and Olive like him as well, he's a real gentleman and they have already seen that his company is good for Miss Peregrine. Jake and Horace have neutral feelings towards him. They couldn't say that they don't like him but are a bit too old for his jokes with the younger children and aren't amazed by his charming way like the girls. Just Enoch doesn't hide his dislike. He hasn't said more than what was necessary and rolls his eyes as Miss Peregrine suggests him staying longer.

As Alma notices him hesitating she quickly adds:"But not if you have your own family waiting for you to come home, we've already detained you enough." "Not at all!" Mr. Sands laughs. "But I couldn't possibly accept your offer. I wouldn't want to add to your work." "Nonsense! " Miss Peregrine answers. "It's not more effort to cook for one more or less." "If you insist," Ethan says," then I could never say no to a beautiful woman." Miss Peregrine blushes once more but decides to ignore his comment. "I got the impression that insisting is your speciality," she jokes instead.

Emma and Olive have to stop themselves from laughing, they've never seen their ymbryne flirting with a man before. Of course the younger ones and the boys don't see what's going on. The children are busy with cheering and convincing Mr. Sands to play with them. "Do you like soccer?," Hugh asks. "We have two goals in the garden, you could come and play with us," he suggests eagerly. "Or you could read us a story," Bronwyn and Claire suggest.

"Children! Don't get ahead of yourselves," Miss Peregrine steps in. "Maybe Mr. Sands doesn't want to play at all." "Ethan!" Mr. Sands corrects her. Alma looks at him confused. "I thought that we agreed that you call me Ethan," he says winking at her. "Of course, yes. But anyway, you don't have to play with them. I need to go into the kitchen to prepare the dinner but you can do what you like," she informs him. "That's alright and I'm happy to play with them," he says and as he sees her raising an eyebrow he adds: "Really!" Then Ethan turns towards the children. "How about we go outside and play football for a while and then come back inside and read a story," he tries to please them all. The children agree and begin to pull him outside. Emma and Olive offer to help Miss Peregrine in the kitchen and Horace stays back to read a book. Jake excuses himself, he has to do a few things for school and Enoch follows him into their room, sulking. He doesn't get why they're all so desperate to spend more time with this doctor. Yes it was nice that he had offered to check on Claire but looking at them all has already been needless. And now this "I'm Ethan and I'd love to play with you"-stuff. In Enoch's opinion it was just over the top and inappropriate for a normal GP.

Working with Miss Peregrine in the kitchen the girls have to pull themselves together not to start laughing again. It was just quite funny how Miss Peregrine reacted to Ethan's compliments and how she is now trying to pretend that nothing has happened. Luckily they are saved from this situation as Miss Peregrine leaves the kitchen to give Claire the medicine. Proudly, Claire shows Ethan how she can swallow it before they start reading a story together. From time to time Ethan would let one of them read while he was trying to act to it. All of them are laughing a lot and even Jake and Horace have joined them.

Suddenly they hear something clattering in the kitchen followed by Miss Peregrine's cursing. All of the children look at each other wondering what has fallen to the ground. As they hear nothing more, they guess that it was nothing of importance and keep reading. Then Emma appears in the doorway and motions to Ethan that he should come into the kitchen. Since the others haven't noticed her he excuses himself for a moment and follows Emma.

In the kitchen he sees Miss Peregrine standing in front of the sink her back turned to him. Next to her stands Olive looking at something in the sink. As he approaches, Emma explains to him that Miss Peregrine has burned her left hand because the pot with the hot water for the vegetables has slipped from her grasp. Ethan looks over her shoulder seeing that she was holding her hand under the cold water. "Let me take a look," he says, takes her by her shoulders and steers her towards a chair on the other side of the room. Then he sits down next to her and carefully takes her hand. As he touches the irritated skin, Alma draws in a sharp breath. "I'm sorry," Ethan says and places her hand in his. "It's not too bad," Alma says and tries to take back her hand, but Ethan doesn't let her. "Let me be the judge of that," he simply answers and takes a closer look. "You've been really lucky. It's just a first-degree burn," he explains. "See, that's what I just said," Alma says and stands up again. "Not so fast," Ethan answers and makes her sit down again. "I think it's still better to dress the hand and give it some rest. I have an ointment in my bag, that will help as well. I'll go get it," he says and hurries out of the room. Miss Peregrine rolls her eyes in annoyance. "I think you should do as he says," Emma advises. "Olive and I can finish up here." Realising that it will be a lot easier to surrender, Alma nods and closes her eyes. This burn really hurts, maybe they were right and she shouldn't move her hand for some time.

As Ethan returns he sits down again and starts to carefully put the ointment on the reddened skin. But it doesn't matter how careful he is, it still hurts a lot and Alma has to clench her teeth to not let him hear how she feels. Then he dresses her hand with some bandages. Maybe that wasn't really necessary but even after a short time of knowing her he already knows that nearly nothing will stop her from fulfilling her duties. So like this it won't be easy for her to use her hand a lot. Then he packs his stuff in his bag and goes back into the living room, after some arguing taking Miss Peregrine with him to rest her hand.

After the two girls have finished in the kitchen, Alma helps them serve everything while the others all go into the bathroom to wash their hands.

During dinner they are all talking to Ethan, telling him about something or asking him about his life. "Now, now, children!" Miss Peregrine stops them. " Don't be so curious, maybe Ethan doesn't want us to know everything about him." "But why not? He can know everything about us as well," Fiona argues. "Can he?" Enoch mumbles until Olive hits him under the desk.

After dinner, Miss Peregrine sends them all into their rooms to get ready for bed. "But why? We don't have school tomorrow and we always watch a movie before bed," they argue. "We can do that after you've gotten ready," Miss Peregrine says, now seriously. Emma and Olive take the other children to their rooms understanding that Miss Peregrine wants to be alone with Mr. Sands.

"It has been a lovely afternoon and evening," he says, finishing his glass of wine. "Thank you for the invitation." Miss Peregrine laughs. "I hope the children weren't too nosy, they're just always interested in other people," she explains. "Not at all," Ethan assures her," I've honestly enjoyed talking to them. They're all lovely children."

Then all the children return to sit down on the couch for the movie. "Is Ethan watching the movie with us?" Millard asks. Miss Peregrine shakes her head. "I think it's time for him to go home, he's been here for nearly the whole day." Then she looks back at him for support. "She's right, children. I've still got some things to do at home but I really enjoyed our time together," he explains and stands up to get his things. The children call goodbye from their seats as he waves to them.

"Thank you again," both Alma and Ethan say simultaneously as they reach the front door. They begin to laugh."No, honestly, it was a great evening," Ethan says. "And I hope we will see each other again soon." "You mean, when we need a doctor because another one has gotten sick, or I've burned myself again?" Alma laughs. "No of course not!," Ethan says," even if you can always call me if you need a doctor. But what I meant was meeting privately. I have to return the favour and invite you all for dinner one day. I hope you still have my number and I have yours, so maybe we will arrange another meeting," he suggests, shakes her good hand and leaves for his car while she's still too shocked to answer. "And don't forget to rest your hand for another day," he adds before getting into the car and closing the door. He's already driving away when she finds her voice again. Confused she walks back inside to watch the movie with her children before they all go to bed. Until Claire doesn't need to take her medicine she sleeps in Miss Peregrine's bed even if she's feeling better again. Before going to bed herself, Alma takes one of the herbal pills, Ethan had given to her. Lying down, she thinks about their day and this funny, charming but also strange doctor. But quickly she falls into a restful sleep, for once without any nightmares.


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It have been a few busy weeks since Claire was sick. The children have had a lot to do for school and Miss Peregrine was always busy with the housework, caring for her children, helping them through their first exams in school and managing everything. A lot of them have begun a hobby as well, so in addition to all, Miss Peregrine is now regularly bringing them to the gymnastics or soccer training.

The weather had gotten a lot better, so they spend all their free time outside. Since there wasn't a lot of time, it's mostly in their garden but on the weekends they would still try to find time to do a trip to the beach or somewhere else.

The children seem to have now settled into their new life, something that was mostly confirmed by all the teachers at the parent-teacher conferences, Miss Peregrine attended.

The little ones are really happy at their school. Claire loves being the one who can help the other children because she is ahead of most of them. She and even the twins really enjoy the lessons, it's more playful than learning with Miss Peregrine. In the modern time, they use just other methods of teaching . In their school are a lot of different students who don't care at all if someone is different so Claire and the twins have found a lot of new friends. They even went to some children's birthday parties where Miss Peregrine met some other parents, all very friendly people. Most of them approximately her age or at least the age she looks like. The teachers have also put her mind at rest about the twins having a hard time. They said that they're well integrated and even if they don't talk, everything they write is always really good. At home they have found a lot of new things to play with. Claire has gotten a new doll and the twins a playmobil knights castle whose nights have to protect Claire's doll from the villains. Then they also draw a lot of pictures which are now decorating all the walls in their as well as Miss Peregrine's room. Because Hugh and Millard have begged her to let them join the soccer club in town, Alma had registered the twins as well. They were accepted into the beginner team and are now doing really good.

Nearly the same things she heard about her youngest children, Alma gets to hear at the middle school as well. Fiona and Bronwyn are both good students and like going to school. Of course, the biology class is Fiona's favourite, as is the biology teacher, who said only good things about Fiona. Furthermore, Fiona is very popular in school and has a lot of friends that she often goes to after school. She has even been to a few sleepovers, something girls at her age seem to love in this time. At the beginning it was difficult for Miss Peregrine, not having her girl with them during the night. Even if they had defeated the wights, it doesn't mean that she has forgotten about them and what they had done to her and her precious children. But she had to accept that letting go of her children was sometimes necessary if she wants them all to be a part of this society. In the garden, Fiona has achieved progress with her plants. The new climate here opened up new possibilities for her and now she is growing a lot of different vegetables and fruits, as well as beautiful flowers.

Bronwyn loves to help her as best as she can and is learning a lot about plants as well. But lately she has found another thing to do. Since they talked about pets in class and got a tortoise in a terrarium for all to care for, she hasn't stopped talking about getting a pet as well. After 3 weeks, Miss Peregrine had given up and went with some of her children to a pet store. Despite the large choice she quickly decided upon two small guinea pigs, who are now residing in a cage next to her bed. Since Bronwyn promised to care for them, Miss Peregrine lets her do everything on her own, now and then reminding her of what needs to be done.

Hugh is different though. He is popular in school and also the teachers like him but they had to say that he can be quite lazy, something that Alma knew too well. He does only the bare necessities, nothing more. Miss Peregrine promised the teachers to keep an eye on him, which was enough for them. The only things he's really enthusiastic about are bees and soccer. Even the teachers have noticed that. Hugh has joined the beekeeper project group at his school and all the teachers were amazed to see him handle the bees. Hugh has learned to be around bees without swallowing them and even at home he is living without them a lot more. Alma was really happy to see him using his peculiarity in a useful way and still fitting in. All of them can now enjoy his honey for breakfast.

The conference at the high school was good as well, Alma knew she doesn't need to worry about her older children. Horace is of course a good student, the teacher is especially delighted about him wearing his suits all the time. At home he does his chores and is especially helpful settling the disputes between Millard and Hugh and consequently ensures a calm atmosphere in their room. The rest of his time he spends reading or playing the piano. Alma always admires that, he's the only one of her children who likes playing his instrument just for himself, when he doesn't have to.

Millard is of course their entertainer, something his teachers noticed as well. He's very popular in school, makes the other children laugh all the time, which also can get a bit annoying at times. But his teachers had to say that he's really sophisticated as well, especially his history teacher is thrilled about his knowledge, particularly about the Second World War. There are always things that he can learn from Millard. Alma understands it well, she knows that her boy is always reading and learning new things. It had always been a lot of fun to teach him because he had been really interested in everything. And now in the modern world he has found new possibilities to extend his knowledge. He's constantly watching documentaries on the television, which teach him all the things that had happened or were discovered during the last 70 years. Alma doesn't want her children to watch TV but this is something that is important, so she is always glad when some of the other children join Millard. These are things that she can't teach them and most of the other children at school already know these things from their parents. From time to time, Alma would even sit down with them and learn things about history, geography or medicine that weren't known in the 1940's.

Her oldest children are of course ambitious students as well, even if it is really difficult for them to join the school merely 1-2 years before they would graduate. Their teachers always emphasize, that they really know a lot in every department, more than most of the others but they can't deny that there are some deficiencies, especially in the subjects where they cover specific , in-depth themes, like biology or chemistry. Of course Jake tries to help them with everything, he had learned in the last years but it's still hard for them. The teachers advise the private coaching, the school offers and Alma promises to talk to her children about it. But all in all they assure her that her children are an enrichment for their school. They have been integrated very well. Emma is really committed to the school magazine and Olive helps with the supervision of the younger students while they do their homework after school. Enoch does his own thing and is respected by all the other students. Some teachers had to note, though, that Olive is quite shy and doesn't talk much. It's ok in the classes where she's together with Emma, Enoch or Jake but when she's alone, she rarely speaks. If the other girls come to her, she's really friendly but she wouldn't talk to someone on her own account. However, everything she writes in class is flawless and her marks are good. Alma assures them that it's not like Olive and she might need some more time to be herself in school as well.

At home Olive has been her happy self, she plays a lot with the younger children, helps where she can and spends a lot of time with Enoch, either while working with him in the supermarket or at home. Alma has the feeling that they are getting along much better than before moving here. Sometimes they would do something together after their work, going out for a walk, eating some ice-cream or something else. Enoch has become a real gentleman. After all they've been through he has learned to appreciate Olive. He spends less time with his dolls as well and only uses them to do useful things, like cleaning the house.

For Alma it was strange to talk to the teachers about Jake. Of course she sees him as one of her children now, but his teachers were used to talk to his parents about him and are confused about the change in his living arrangements. Nonetheless they talked to Miss Peregrine and informed her that he has changed a lot. He's not so shy anymore and is better accepted by his classmates. Of course they have also noticed that he and Emma are getting along pretty well which they are glad of.

Emma and Jake have decided to take their time. They are not officially a couple but spend a lot of time together, either in school, in the supermarket, at home or elsewhere. Jake takes her out on dates, to the cinema, the beach or to parties of the other students, to which he is now invited regularly. At home he helps her with all the things she does, like cooking, cleaning or helping Miss Peregrine with other things. One day they had to work longer because the supermarket did inventory. As they finished, it was already getting dark, so Jake decided to take Emma to the beach for the sunset. It had been beautiful. Emma sat next to him, her head lying on his shoulder. Of course Jake had given her his jacket because it still was quite cold in the evenings. Emma enjoys her time with Jacob. He is just so sweet and really inventive when it comes to things they could do together. And because Miss Peregrine isn't as strict with him as with the other children they have a lot of freedom to do what they want to. Emma feels a bit guilty for taking advantage of the fact that Miss Peregrine is too busy to keep an eye on them as well as the younger children, but loves spending time with Jake alone.

As Miss Peregrine went home from the conferences in the schools, she was really proud. All of her children are good students and seem to be accepted in class. Not all of them had been quick learners but during the last years she had taught them a lot and they worked really hard on their weaknesses. Because of the years of practice they are now quite good in everything and are able to keep up with the other students, even if they have to learn a lot of new things.

One afternoon, a week later, Miss Peregrine is sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee in her hand. She has just vacuumed the house and is taking a short break before doing the laundry and then bringing the girls to their gymnastics training. She was thinking about everything. The last weeks were so busy, she had barely time to think about anything, she was just functioning. Luckily she hasn't had any more nightmares, so she wasn't so tired anymore. The medicine, Dr. Sands gave her seemed to be working. _Dr. Sands..._ Alma hasn't had time to think about him either. If there was a free minute, her thoughts would drift to him but before she could realize it, one of her children came to ask her about something. She would like to see him again, he is a funny and kind man and she and her children had all enjoyed their time with him. After all he is the first contact she has made since arriving here. But since he hasn't called so far, she thinks he doesn't want to see them again and offering it had just been out of courtesy. Yes he had done much more for them that any GP would do and he paid her a lot of compliments. But Alma just can't make sense of him. In her opinion, it has to be the man who calls the woman and since he doesn't, it has to mean that he's simply not interested. And it's probably just for the best. She has to be here for her children in this new world and doesn't need any distractions. Nonetheless she will find out about it soon enough. They all still need to be vaccinated. She hasn't made an appointment yet, because they all need to be healthy and as long as it's still cold outside one of them is always having a cold. Some of the younger ones have asked her about Ethan and when he would come again to play with them, they really like him. Miss Peregrine has told them that he was probably busy and that they can't forget that he's just their GP, nothing more.

Suddenly, Miss Peregrine hears the front door opening. Confused she turns her head, all of her children are in the garden, so who would enter through the front door? It is Enoch.

"What are you doing here already, I thought you and Olive have school until 4?," Alma asks him. Enoch takes off his shoes and his jacket. After placing his back on the ground in the corridor to his room, he walks over to the couch. "Yeah...my last class was cancelled, but Olive is still in school," he explains while sitting down next to Miss Peregrine. Alma can see that he wants something, he's never behaving like that and at the moment he's sitting there, looking at his hands, nervously playing with his fingers. She places her cup on the coffee table and leans back. "What is it, Enoch?" she simply asks. "I can see that you've got something on your mind." Taken aback, Enoch looks up at her. Is he really that obvious? Then he looks back at his hands. "It's about Olive," he starts. Amazed, Miss Peregrine leans forward again. She knows that Enoch and Olive have lately gotten into a closer relationship that most of her children have but she wouldn't have thought that her big boy would come to talk to her about it. Not saying anything she waits for him to continue, which he does. "I think she's unhappy and I think she's hiding something from us," Enoch says. "What makes you think that?" Miss Peregrine asks, now even more confused. "I don't really know. She's changed in the last weeks. We've gotten on well and now she's kind of avoiding me and when I ask her if something's wrong she changes the subject," Enoch explains. "Are you sure, Enoch? When I see her she's as happy as ever. Maybe it was just the stress in school with all the exams," Alma tries to reassure him. " I don't think so," Enoch insists. "I think she has problems in school," he continues his thoughts. "Earlier, I saw her in the corridor and she had an argument with two boys of our year, but when I asked what was going on, they said that it was nothing. And since then Olive hasn't looked at me either." Enoch buries his face in his hands and sighs. Miss Peregrine can see that he's really desperate, so she places her hand on his back. "Oh, Enoch, maybe it really was just a misunderstanding. And that she's not talking to you much doesn't have to mean anything. She may just need some time for herself. Women sometimes do," Alma says, winking at him. "I don't know," Enoch answers, still not convinced. "Ok, Enoch, if you're still unsure, I will keep it in mind, ok?" Alma asks and Enoch nods. "Thank you, " he says and gets up, going into his room. Standing up as well Miss Peregrine shakes her head. _Teenagers..._ She puts her cup into the dishwasher and gets her children. Now there's no time left to do the laundry, she has to bring the girls to the gym. Enoch is still here to take care of everything and Olive must be returning any minute, as well as Emma and Jacob, who were working today. If they are not doing anything else afterwards. Lately, they have been away a lot, but Alma doesn't say anything. After everything Jake has been through, she doesn't want to take away his freedom and the life he used to live here before. And by what the teachers said he is now as popular as never before, so Alma doesn't want to ruin that for him, even if it means that Emma won't be here either. She has to learn to let their children live their own lifes as well.

In the evening, as Alma returns with Claire, Bronwyn and Fiona, Emma and Olive have already cooked dinner and Jake and Enoch are setting the table. They all eat together, enjoying the new recipe, the girls have tried. During the dinner, Alma observes Olive closely but without her noticing. Maybe Enoch was right after all, she seems to be lost in her thoughts and even when she's laughing, it seems feigned. Alma decides to keep an eye on her for now.

After dinner, all the children go to bed because it's already too late for a movie. The older children help Miss Peregrine cleaning up the kitchen before going into their rooms as well. After wishing all of her children a goodnight and reminding the older ones to go to bed early enough, Alma goes into her room as well. She starts reading a book but soon falls asleep.

A couple of days later, Alma is sitting on the couch with a glass of red wine. It's already 11 o'clock and most of her children are already asleep. Just Emma, Jake and Enoch are still out. One of the boys of their school is hosting a house party and they have begged her to go as well. After promising that they would stay away from alcohol and will be home before 12, Alma approved. Just Olive stayed home, saying she had a headache. After the last days Alma now really believes that something's wrong with Olive, she has spent most of the time alone in her room and hasn't talked much. She goes to bed early but doesn't seem to sleep well, in the mornings she's always tired. Alma hasn't spoken to her yet, she doesn't want Olive to close up even more.

As Alma checks her watch, thinking that the others should return very soon, she hears the front door opening. All three of her children enter the living room, Jake quickly removing his arm from around Emma's shoulder. He's still uncomfortable with Miss Peregrine knowing about him and Emma.

Miss Peregrine gets up, looks them over and then nods her approval. They all seem to be sober and they've returned in time, so she has nothing to complain about. Enoch and Jake go directly to their room and Emma goes into the bathroom to get ready, while Miss Peregrine finishes up her glass of wine. She's tired as well and now, as her children have returned safely, she can finally go to bed.

As she wants to get up to put away her glass, Emma leaves the bathroom and walks over to sit with her. They do that sometimes in the evenings, when all the other children are already in bed, just sitting and talking about everything and nothing. Emma, as the oldest girl and the one of Alma's children, who's been with her the longest, has the closest relationship with her. She would ask her for advice on her relationship with Jake and would talk to her about any problems she might have. But she also offers advice to her ymbryne. Emma is constantly urging her to live her own life as well, going out, to the theatre or the movies. She tells her that they are old enough to stay alone for the evening. Until now, Emma hasn't dared to mention Dr. Sands, though. She saw that Miss Peregrine liked him but she hasn't seen her ymbryne with a man, ever. So she wasn't sure how she would react if she brought up the subject.

"How was the evening?", Miss Peregrine asks Emma, as she has sat down. "It was quite good," Emma answers. "We had a lot of fun together and I met some new people as well. It's a pity though that Olive couldn't come with us," Emma sighs. "She would have liked them as well."

"Yes, about that," Miss Peregrine begins " I'm concerned about Olive." Emma nods. "I know, me too." "So you've noticed her change as well?", Alma asked and Emma nods again. "Has she said anything to you?"Miss Peregrine wants to know. Emma shakes her head. "I don't know, what's wrong with her," she says. "At first, I thought it was because of Enoch, that she wasn't so sure about him anymore, that it had all been too fast for her and that she needed time on her own to think about everything."

Alma raised her eyebrows. She didn't know that it was so serious between her two teenagers. "But then Olive stopped asking me for advice as well. Usually, we would talk in bed before we fall asleep, but now she's already in bed when I come and pretends to be asleep," Emma continues. "So you've got no idea at all, what could be the cause?" Miss Peregrine wants to make sure. Sadly, Emma shakes her head again. "I haven't noticed anything that could cause her behaviour. As I know, all her marks were ok and I know that she can be shy in school but she has talked to some girls and everything was fine until a few weeks ago," Emma explains everything she knows. "Ok, thank you Emma," Miss Peregrine says. "Maybe you could keep your eyes open anyway. Maybe you notice something in school or you can make her talk to you," Alma suggests. "I'll try," Emma answers before Miss Peregrine gets up to finally put her glass away. "We should go to bed now as well," she says as she returns and Emma gets up, both going into their rooms.

Before Alma falls asleep, she keeps thinking about Olive. She needs to do something. But Olive has always been withdrawn, which hasn't been a big problem until now. She has never had any problems, or at least Alma hasn't noticed anything. Maybe Alma has failed to treat Olive the way she needed to be treated. Olive always helps her and cares for the younger ones, like Emma does. But Olive is not Emma. She's much more sensitive and insecure. Something that wasn't of importance while they were all among themselves in their loop. But now, here in the open world, it must be difficult for Olive and Alma hasn't thought of that. She was just too busy with the younger children and since Olive isn't the type of person who speaks about her problems, she has simply gotten lost among all the other children. Alma knows, that she has to talk to Olive very soon. She will wait for the right moment when they're alone and then she will speak to her girl.

During the next days, Miss Peregrine watches Olive closely. She doesn't shut herself away further but she doesn't get better either. Unfortunately there's no free time for Miss Peregrine to talk to her. Either Olive is in school, at work or already in bed; or they are all together with the other children.

On a Monday morning, Alma is walking around the living room, cleaning up after her children once more. Her little ones have played with all their toys the last afternoon and haven't bothered to put them back into their room. Suddenly, Alma hears the front door opening and someone runs inside, straight into the girls room, slamming the door shut. Puzzled, she looks up. It must have been her Olive. It simply wasn't like Emma or Fiona. Concerned, Alma walks towards the door. Before knocking, she waits a few seconds, taking in the sound of her girl crying. She can't bear to hear her like that and enters without waiting for an answer. Olive is lying on her bed, her back turned towards the door and her head buried in her pillow. Her body is shaking with every sob. Slowly, Alma walks towards her and sits down on the edge of the bed. From this position she can see, that Olive is only wearing one of her gloves, the other arm holding in an awkward position, careful not to touch anything. Gently, Alma takes Olive's arm in her hand and strokes Olive's head with the other. Slowly she turns her around, so that Olive has to face her. Her hair is ruffled and her face tear-stained. Miss Peregrine cups her face, her thumb stroking her cheek. "What happened, Olive?" she asks in a caring voice. Olive starts crying again and averts her gaze, new tears falling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Miss P.," she sobs. "I've lost my glove...and now we have to buy another one." "But Olive, that's not really the problem, is it? We can easily get another one, I may even have a spare one in my room," Miss Peregrine reassures her. As Olive turns back into her pillow, crying more desperately, Alma stands up and leaves the room. Olive doesn't understand what's happening but before she realises she's alone, Miss Peregrine returns, a black glove in her hand. She sits back down and puts the glove on Olive's left hand. Now more free in her movements, Olive turns around and sits up a bit. Because she's still sobbing too much to speak, Miss Peregrine hugs her tightly, rubbing circles on Olive's back. After a few minutes, Olive seems to have calmed down a bit and Alma releases her. "Don't you want to tell me what happened?" she asks gently.

Olive tries to keep her tears at bay before thinking about what to say. She doesn't want anyone to know what's wrong, she has done her best during the last weeks to hide it from everybody. Why does she have to break down now, and even in front of Miss Peregrine. Her ymbryne shouldn't have to worry about her as well, she's got enough to do and think of as it is. Desperately she thinks of an excuse that could work but has to realize that it's time to talk to someone. She has tried to manage on her own long enough and where has it led her? At the beginning it was bearable but today showed that she can't handle it on her own any more. _But how to begin?_

Alma sees the indecision in Olive's eyes. Again, she cups her face, this time with both hands. " You can always come to me and tell me anything, you know that, right?" Olive nods hesitantly. Then she takes a deep breath. "I haven't just lost the glove," she starts. Alma doesn't say anything and just waits for Olive to keep on explaining even if it takes some time. "There are these boys at school," Olive continues and as she begins to sob again, Alma gently rubs her arms and gives her an encouraging smile. "They've been after me for some time now. I don't know what they want but they just won't leave me alone," Olive says, now sobbing even harder. Alma hugs her again until Olive is able to speak on. Miss Peregrine still says nothing, waiting for her girl to finish, while caressing her head. "They would always call me names or hassle me and they only come when I'm on my own. First they just made fun of me, then they started telling lies about me and pushing me around when nobody was looking, always saying I wasn't worth of being treated normally, that I was a weirdo, looking like a veterinarian with my gloves." Now, Alma couldn't just listen anymore. She pushed Olive away to look her in the eyes. "That's not true, Olive!," she says outraged. "You're a wonderful girl, worth of so much more! What kind of humans are they, just picking on someone, who hasn't done anything wrong," she wonders upset. Still sobbing, Olive continues:" And one day, they started threatening to take my gloves away. A few times they tried, but I was able to run away, or someone else came so they had to stop. But today..." Olive bursts into tears once more, so Alma takes her back in her arms, whispering soothing things in her ear. "...they waited for me in the corridor to the gym, where nobody was except for them and me. Two of them lunged at me before I could realize it. They held me tight while the other boy went to get my gloves. Somehow I managed to kick him and break free. But one of the boys had already grabbed my glove and didn't let go. There was no other way than leaving without it and then I ran as fast as I could until I was here." Miss Peregrine has to hug her even tighter to comfort her, because she was now shaking violently with every sob. It hurts her to see Olive like this and she doesn't understand why she hasn't said anything but at the same time Alma is really proud, that despite of everything she didn't hurt them and tried not to touch anyone with her bare hand.

After a couple of minutes, it seems to be possible to speak to her again, so Alma releases her. "I'm so sorry, Olive, I don't know what to say," she says. "No one should go through something like that and I can't understand how someone can do such things that, and that no one noticed why on earth haven't you said anything? To us, or the teachers?," Miss Peregrine asks Olive. Wiping some of the tears away. Olive shrugs. "I don't know. At first it wasn't that big a deal. And then I guess I was ashamed, or didn't want you to worry."

"Oh, Olive, you shouldn't go through something like that on your own, we're always here for you, no matter what. And it's really nothing to be ashamed of. The only ones that should be ashamed, are these boys!" Alma says, raging. "And how didn't the others notice anything?" "It only happened when I had classes on my own, these boys seemed to know exactly when I'm where and with whom," Olive explained, finally recovering from her crying fit. "And couldn't you have said something to Enoch, than he could have been with you a lot more," Alma asks. Olive shakes her head. "No, they knew that I'm usually with Enoch or the others and they threatened to hurt them if I told anyone. I didn't dare to, they are pretty strong and they said they had even more friends, that they could have called." Sadly, Miss Peregrine shakes her head. She would never have thought of something like that. _How could anyone be so cruel?_

"I'm so sorry, Olive," she repeats and hugs her one last time before standing up. Her leg has already fallen asleep from sitting in an awkward position for so long. "I will make sure that these boys will never come near you again, I promise", Alma reassures her. Unsure, Olive nods. She's a little bit afraid of what's going to come. But it can't be any worse than the thing they have already done to her. "You look exhausted," Miss Peregrine points out. "You must be tired from everything today. How about I'll bring you a cup of hot tea and then you lie down for a while," she suggests. As Olive nods grateful, Alma leaves the room to prepare the tea.

While Alma is putting the kettle on, the telephone rings. It's Jake. They are all worried because they can't find Olive and she hasn't attended their last class. Alma reassures him that Olive is fine and tells him that they will talk when they come back. Then she hangs up and goes back into the kitchen. Suddenly, she remembers something. Alarmed she looks at her watch. It's already 5 to 12, she has to pick up Claire and the twins. Quickly she gets the tea ready, brings it to Olive before hurrying to the school.

Back home, Alma sends the children to do their homework while she is preparing something for lunch. After they have all eaten together with Hugh, Fiona, Millard and Horace, she sends them to go play outside. Reluctantly, they leave the living room. Millard and Horace preferred to watch a documentary on TV but Miss Peregrine insisted. And no one contradicts Miss Peregrine, ever. As the house is empty, Alma goes to wake up Olive and eats together with her. She hasn't wanted Olive to eat with the others. She shouldn't have to explain herself to them and not everyone in the house needs to know about her problems. It's hard enough for her as it is.

Afterwards they sit down together on the couch. Miss Peregrine wanted Olive to have some time on her own before speaking to her again. It has all been a lot for her in the morning. But now after she's slept and eaten something, Alma thinks it wise to talk about their next steps. They are having some chocolate for dessert before getting down to their serious matters. Miss Peregrine tells Olive that she will go to the principle and talk to him but that Olive will most likely have to talk to him as well and tell him who the boys are. Furthermore, they will have to tell at least, Emma, Enoch and Jake. the other children don't need to know about it. Olive is a little bit afraid of talking to the principle and especially to Enoch but she's glad that Miss Peregrine now knows about it and will be with her through all this. While they are talking, Emma, Jake and Enoch return from school. Miss Peregrine leaves Olive on the couch and meets the others at the front door. She tells them that Olive is now ok and sends Enoch to sit with her while she talks to Jake and Emma. Alma and Olive had agreed that Olive needs to speak to Enoch herself, but Alma doesn't want her to speak about it more than necessary, so she will tell Emma and Jake.

Emma and Jake are really shocked to hear about it, they haven't noticed anything at all. But they think they know who the boys are. Jake says that they are known for bullying others and have already had to go to the principle a few times. They are really cruel and Jake had also been one of their victims a few years ago.

Meanwhile Enoch has sat down next to Olive. He feels a bit insecure, still not sure if he's done something wrong. He sees that Olive must have cried a lot today and immediately forgets about his unease. He hugs her tightly and as she begins to sob again he kisses her on the cheek, removing all the tears. Then he takes her hands and listens to what she has to tell him. Olive explains everything, how it all started, what they did and why she didn't dare to say anything. Beside himself with anger he promises to show these boys, that they have made a big mistake. He's really upset that he hasn't noticed anything earlier and that he didn't protect his precious Olive. Olive tries to assure him that he's not to blame and tries to stop him from taking revenge but is not sure if she's successful. Nonetheless she enjoys lying in his arms and being comforted by him. Her head leans against his chest and Enoch has put his arms around her, their fingers intertwined. From time to time he kisses her on her forehead while stroking her hand with his thumb. Enoch decides to never leave her out of sight in school, he will never let her down again. Olive is sure that Enoch is the right one for her, no other would be able to make her feel this save, just lying here in his arms. All her worries about their relationship are suddenly gone.

After some time they were joined by Emma and Jake. Knowing everything, they hug Olive as well before sitting down. Together they promise Olive to stay with her in school until these boys were either expelled or have forgotten about her. After Miss Peregrine joins them with some hot chocolate, coffee and cookies, they all spend a lovely afternoon, talking and playing games. For the first time in weeks, Olive laughs again with them. It feels so good to have shared her worries. All the bad memories seem forgotten, just by talking to the others. Maybe Miss Peregrine was right after all. She wasn't alone and could come to them whenever she needed to, just talking to them will always make her feel better and saver. Like nothing can happen to her as long as they are all together.

The next day Miss Peregrine brings her children to school and makes and appointment with the principle. She tells him everything before Olive is called to him as well, to confirm everything. The principle assures them, that he will take care of the matter. Because it's already the fourth time someone complains about them, he's pretty sure that they won't be able to avoid an expulsion. Until then, they're under strict supervision and Olive won't be without protection at any time. Furthermore he promises, that something like that will never happen again in his school. Any sort of bullying will be punished severely and he will do everything he can to increase tolerance at his school.

Glad and relieved, both women leave the office. Olive has been exempted from school for the rest of the day, so they decided to go shopping together until they need to pick up the younger ones. Olive wants to get some new dresses and jeans and in her opinion, Miss Peregrine needs some new clothes as well. Curious about what she will look like afterwards, Alma follows her girl, who seems so carefree again. She is really happy that everything turned out the way it did and swears that she will never neglect any of her children again. Through this she has learned not to be deceived by a facade. In the future she will do her best to be there for all her children in the way every single one of them needs her to be. Something like this will never happen again. Remembering that, she closes the distance between her and Olive and together they leave the building and go out into a sunny day.


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

On a Saturday morning, Miss Peregrine is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. All her children were still asleep because they stayed up quite late last evening. Alma is flipping through a catalogue of a clothing store, Fiona has given to her because she really wanted to have a bikini. As the weather got better, the school has started with the swimming lessons and Fiona complained, that she was the only girl that was still wearing a swimsuit. Because they have no plans for the day, Alma thinks about taking her out to buy one later. Even if Alma thinks that bikinis are too revealing and she doesn't want her children to wear one, she has to understand, that it's hard for her girls in this modern world. Of course she doesn't want them to be outsiders. The peer pressure shouldn't be the reason for them to change, though, but as long as her girls feel comfortable with what they wear, Alma wouldn't stand in their way.

Especially Fiona is having a hard time. For the first time in years she's growing older. Furthermore she's growing into a woman, something that's difficult for every girl and in addition to that she has to do it in a world, that's so unknown to them all. To Alma, she's still her little girl but Fiona's body is gradually changing. Most of Fiona's classmates are starting to use make-up as well. Often Fiona returns from the sleepovers with lipstick on or wearing feminine clothes, she has borrowed from one of her friends. Thinking of it, Alma decides to buy her some other clothes as well when they go shopping. The last time she went with Olive, she saw the admiring look in Fiona's eyes on seeing Olive's new clothes. Alma herself had bought a new dress and a pair of jeans as well. Olive had promised that she would look incredible in it but so far she hasn't tried it.

While Alma is starting to prepare their breakfast, the other children join her in the kitchen. First Claire, Bronwyn and the twins come out of their room, but she sends them to play in the living room until she has finished. Just Bronwyn stays in the kitchen for a while, because she prepares some food for her guinea pigs and also refills their water bottle. "Do they have a name yet?" Alma asks curious, washing some fruits in the sink. "I'm not really sure, yet," Bronwyn answers. "I've thought of some names but they're all not really good." "Let me hear them," Alma tells her while returning to the worktop to cut the fruits. "I need a female and a male name," Bronwyn begins. "So far I have: Cora, Trixi, Ginger and Spinner or Mr. White, because he's got a white nose," she explains. "That's a hard decision," Alma agrees. "But I really like Ginger and Spinner." "Really?" Bronwyn asks. "Don't you have any better ideas?" "No, not at all, your suggestions were already really good," Miss Peregrine assures her. Happy and grateful Bronwyn leaves the kitchen to go feed her new friends.

Shortly afterwards, the other children come out of their rooms as well. Fiona, Hugh, Horace and Millard join the younger ones in the living room, while the four older teenagers sit down at the kitchen table, where Miss Peregrine has already placed 4 mugs and a coffee pot, as well as some milk and sugar. Together they drink some coffee while talking to Miss Peregrine. They were all out the last evening and are now reporting everything that happened. They know that they can tell their ymbryne everything and as long as they're honest with her, she's ok with them going out.

During the breakfast Miss Peregrine discusses with them her plans for the day. Of course Fiona is really excited to hear that they're going shopping together. All of the boys don't like buying clothes so Alma will buy something for the ones who need some new things. The younger children have enough clothes already and the older ones go and buy their own things when they need to.

"Jake and I wanted to go to the beach today," Emma informs Miss Peregrine. "And I think Olive and Enoch wanted to come as well, is that right?" Emma continues, looking at Olive for confirmation. "Yes, there will be a lot of other students from school today," Olive adds. "When do you want to go?" Miss Peregrine asks. "Fiona and I won't be back for some time." "I don't know," Emma begins. "It's already starting at 12 o'clock," Jake explains. "What exactly is happening there today? Can you take the others with you?," Miss Peregrine asks. The older children look at each other, no one dares to speak up. "Ok it's really simple," Miss Peregrine continues instead. "Either you can take them with you, and only if it is appropriate for them, or you have to wait until I'm back." Disappointed Emma and Jake look at each other. There is a kind of festival at the beach today, to start the swimming season and there will be playing a lot of bands, their favourite one already at half past 12. "I don't think it would be good to take them with us," Emma says sadly. "When do you think you will return?" Olive asks Miss P. "I've got no idea, it depends on how long it takes to find the right things. But I think we can make it until half past 2," Miss Peregrine guesses. "Ok," Olive says, looking back at Enoch," I guess we can stay here until 3, can't we?" Enoch nods and says: "Then you two can go early and see your band, the ones we want to see are playing later." He looks at Emma and Jake. "Oh, thank you so much," Emma says smiling and takes Jakes hand under the table.

"Ok, that's that then," Miss Peregrine says. "But I want you to be careful! Olive, you still have to be cautious with these boys walking around town, I bet they are pretty angry about what happened. "Of course," Olive says. Enoch lays his arm around her shoulders. "I won't leave her out of my sight. Nothing will happen, Miss P." he reassures her. Miss Peregrine nods and then stands up to clear the table. The younger ones have already finished eating and are talking about the day, not listening to the discussions of the older ones.

"Ok, children, then be good, while I'm gone, listen to Olive and Enoch and don't cause any trouble," Miss Peregrine warns before leaving with Fiona.

Together they spend a lovely midmorning, talking a lot. Fiona finds two beautiful bikinis. Miss Peregrine wouldn't have chosen them but she sees how happy Fiona is, so she doesn't say anything. Then they buy two pairs of jeans, a skirt, a dress and some tops. Before going home, they eat some ice cream together and Miss Peregrine quickly buys some trousers and shirts for Hugh and Millard, who have grown out of their clothes.

Coming home, they send Enoch and Olive to the beach. Together with the others, they eat some sandwiches, that Olive has made. Afterwards, Miss Peregrine wants them to practice their instruments, while she has to do some stuff at her desk.

In the early evening, they go all together to the beach to see what's happening there. The younger children have begged Miss Peregrine to take them there as well, because the others have made them curious. Together they enjoy the last sunshine for the day, eating another ice cream and listening to a band. Afterwards they go find the older ones. Finding Enoch and Olive was easy, they are dancing to the music with some friends from school. They haven't seen Emma and Jake for some time so they go looking for them, promising to meet the others at the entrance. Emma and Jake are sitting in a corner at the beach, kissing. Approaching them, Enoch and Olive go separate ways, creeping up on them to startle them by shouting and grabbing their shoulders. Alarmed, Emma and Jake break the kiss and look up to see what has just happened. On seeing Olive and Enoch laughing their heads off, they have to laugh as well but at the same time planning to get their revenge another time. Then they join the others and together they walk back home.

It's already half past 7 as they arrive at home and Fiona has to hurry because she has been invited to another sleepover at her best friend's house. Quickly she packs some things and is then taken there by Jake in his car, because she's already a bit late.

As Miss Peregrine picks her up the next morning, Fiona is unusually silent. Miss Peregrine guesses that she hasn't got much sleep, so she doesn't say anything and lets her go straight to her room as they return.

Entering, Fiona comes upon Emma and Jake who are kissing on Emma's bed. They had to meet in Emma's room, because Olive and Enoch had already occupied the boys room. Seeing her, they stop immediately and Jake removes his hand from under Emma's shirt. Feeling awkward Fiona excuses herself and goes to sit on her bed. Noticing that something is up, Emma sends Jake out of the room and approaches Fiona. Usually she would have smirked and left the room to tell the others what she saw but now she was sitting on her bed, her knees drawn to her chest, scribbling something in her diary. Emma has never seen her this thoughtful. Carefully she sits down next to Fiona on her bed and takes Fiona's diary to place it on her nightstand. "How was the sleepover?" she asks. "Did you have fun?" "It was ok," Fiona shrugs. "Did you watch a movie?" Emma keeps asking. "Kind of," Fiona replies, not looking Emma in the eyes. "We mostly talked." "But that sounds like fun," Emma points out. "Yeah...," Fiona answers and takes back her diary to start writing again. Once more, Emma gently takes it away. "Come on, Fiona. Tell me what's wrong," she says and takes Fiona's chin to lift her head, so she can look her in the eyes. Having always been there for them all, Emma has aconnection to all the children, but as girls, Emma, Olive and Fiona have always been close, which has even increased, since they moved in together.

"We talked about girls stuff," Fiona starts. "About boys? Do you have a crush on someone?" Emma asks excited. Fiona shakes her head and looks down. "About other girls stuff," she finally admits. "Oh, I see," Emma answers and moves so she sits next to Fiona, leaning against the wall. "Lena has been having her first period and Megan and Alexa had already had it some months ago. They were talking about it the whole evening, just Sarah and I were left out", Fiona continues. "And now you're worrying that you're not normal because it hasn't happened to you yet?" Emma guesses. Fiona shrugs. "Kind of, but I don't really want it to start either. I got really scared when I heard all the things they talked about," she explains. Emma gives her an understanding look and takes her hand to comfort her. "Is it the first time you got confronted with the subject? Haven't you talked in school about it?" she asks. "Of course," Fiona answers. "But then it had only been theoretical. And what Miss Olsen said wasn't as scary." "What have the other girls said, anyway?" Emma asks. "They told the stories when it first happened. Lena was at home but Megan was in school and Alexa even at a swimming contest. They said that they thought that they were going to die because there was so much blood and they didn't know what to do. Then they said it was really awkward telling their mothers and that it's all so horrible."

" Oh Fiona," Emma laughs, laying her arm around Fiona. "You shouldn't believe everything they say. They've probably just exaggerated to make it sound more interesting. It's not like that at all." Confused Fiona looks up at her older sister. "It's not the most pleasant thing in the world, yes, but it's not like these horror stories either. There's not so much blood, especially in the beginning. Actually, you don't lose a lot of blood at all, even if it always looks like much more," Emma explains as the door opens.

Both girls stop talking and look up to see who's coming. "Jake told me you were talking about things," Olive says and goes to sit next to them. "What's wrong?" she asks as she sees the look on their faces. Emma looks at Fiona for permission and then says: "Fiona is scared of her first period. Her friends have told her some things and now she's worried." "Oh," Olive answers," don't be. It's not that bad." "Will it hurt?" Fiona asks," they said that it's really painful." "It can be, for some girls. But not everyone gets these cramps," Emma explains. "You shouldn't worry about that now," Olive adds. "And besides, it's nothing that can't be eased with some hot tea and a hot-water bag." Both, Emma and Olive smile at Fiona, so she doesn't have a choice and has to smile as well, they've already made her feel better.

"You know that you can always come to us, whether it has happened or you just have more questions " Emma continues and Fiona nods. "Yes, but you can also go to Miss P., she's really understanding." Olive informs her. "Yes, of course," Emma confirms," she has helped me a lot and she was always there for me. And it wasn't awkward at all, talking to her, right Olive?" "Definitely not, she knew exactly what to say and how you feel. She has been through it herself," Olive answers. Unsure, Fiona nods again. "And that in a time when it was much more complicated. Just be happy, that you haven't had it until now. It's so much more comfortable and easier here in 2017, believe me," Emma says. "I bet you've talked in school about it, so you know more than we did," Olive points out. Fiona nods once more, now more confident. It is true, she already knows a lot.

"We keep the sanitary products in one of the drawers in the bathroom," Emma explains. "If you'll need anything, you can always go there and take it. Miss P. fills it up regularly." "Ok," Fiona says and smiles. "Thank you." "No problem," Emma and Olive answer and hug her younger sister. "Now, if you don't have any more questions, let's go into the living room, I bet Miss P. has already made something to eat," Emma says and stands up with Olive. Relieved, Fiona follows them and together they leave their room and spend another lovely afternoon with the others.

When the time has come for Fiona, she knows exactly what to do. As it happens at home, she does what Emma and Olive have told her and searches the drawers for the sanitary products. Later, when Emma and Olive return from school, she goes and talks to them again. Now, as it's reality, she has still got some more questions. Really friendly, they tell her everything she needs to know. How often she should change the products and what she can do if she gets menstrual cramps. They keep reminding her that it's normal and a big step in growing up and that she's now a woman. Furthermore, they assure her that she can always come to them if she has a problem or wants to know more. But they say that she should talk to Miss Peregrine as well. "She should know," Emma says. "And don't worry, she's wonderful when it comes to things like that, I promise," she ads and Olive agrees. Fiona nods, but decides to wait a little longer until she feels a bit more comfortable with it herself. But with time, she forgets about it.

Until one evening: Fiona lies in bed but can't fall asleep because she's in pain. Now she knows how these cramps feel. It's not as bad as she thought when she had heard the others talking about it, but it was bad enough to keep her awake. Remembering what Olive and Emma told her, she gets up to go into the kitchen to get the hot-water bag and make some tea. She can't ask one of the others, because Emma has secretly gone out with Jake and they haven't returned yet and Olive has sneaked into Enoch's room to spend the night with him, enjoying having the room all to themselves.

Quietly, Fiona leaves her room to go to the kitchen. Entering the living room, she has to squint her eyes, because the light is too bright. As her eyes get used to it, she can see that Miss Peregrine is still awake, sitting on the couch, drinking something.

"You're still awake?" Fiona says. "Yes, I'm waiting for Emma and Jake," Miss Peregrine answers. "You know?" Fiona asks amazed. "Yes," Miss Peregrine laughs. "There is little that I don't know, Fiona. And I've been young and in love as well. I'm not angry with them but I can't sleep until I know that they're safe. Besides, my room is next to Enoch's, so there's not much silence either," Miss Peregrine explains, winking at Fiona. Both of them have to laugh.

"But what I don't know, is what you're doing here so late. Can't you sleep?" Miss Peregrine asks. Fiona shakes her head. Taking a closer look, Miss Peregrine gets concerned. "You don't look too good, are you sick, sweetheart?" she asks. Fiona just shakes her head again and looks at her feet. "Come here," Miss Peregrine offers and points at the seat next to her.

Slowly, Fiona walks over and sits down next to her. Out of her bed she feels a little bit cold and her cramps are still strong so she draws up her legs and hugs them. This concerns Miss Peregrine even more. "Are you in pain, dear? she asks and starts stroking her back. Shyly, Fiona nods. "What's wrong?" Miss Peregrine asks approaching her and taking her hands.

"I've got these cramps," Fiona begins, Miss Peregrine looking at her expectantly. Fiona looks up into her ymbryne's eyes. "I meant to tell you," she stammers," but I didn't know how. Slowly, Miss Peregrine begins to understand. "Oh darling, don't worry" she says and hugs her. "Don't feel awkward, this is perfectly normal. When did it start and do you have any questions?" Miss Peregrine wants to know. Fiona tells her that she has already spoken to Emma and Olive who have told her everything she needs to know. "I'm glad that you have them to talk to," Miss Peregrine says smiling. "Not every girl is so lucky."

As Fiona clutches her lower stomach again, Alma remembers that her girl is in pain. "Lie down and wait here," she says and gets up. Before going, she takes the blanket and covers Fiona. While Fiona closes her eyes, Miss Peregrine goes into the kitchen to make some tea and a hot-water bag. Then she returns, places it on Fiona's abdomen and gives her the cup of tea.

Alma sits down next to her, so Fiona can lean her head against her. After Fiona has drunk some tea she lies back down and Miss Peregrine starts massaging her stomach. Noticing, that Fiona tenses a bit she says: "It's ok, dear. I know exactly how it feels. How many times have I lain awake in my room, because I couldn't fall asleep. And the same goes for the other girls, so many times have they been here like you. Fiona smiles. She enjoys lying here in her ymbryne's lap and talking to her about it hadn't been so bad after all.

After Fiona has relaxed and her cramps have eased up, Miss Peregrine accompanies her to her room. She hands her the hot-water bag, in case she would need it again and wishes her a good night before closing the door behind her. Very soon, Fiona falls into a deep sleep.

Miss Peregrine writes a short note for Jake and Emma and then goes to knock at Enoch's door. She is happy for them and allowed them their time together but she wouldn't want them sleeping in one bed for the whole night, especially not a school night. Alma sends Olive out of the room saying: "I think you've had enough time and I'd really like to sleep now as well." Alma winks at them, while they kiss one last time, then Olive leaves, passing Miss Peregrine, her head lowered in shame.

Closing the door, Alma goes into her room and gets ready for bed. She still can't fall asleep though, not until she hears Emma and Jake returning. Luckily she doesn't have to get up to tell Jake to sleep in his own bed, because Emma sees that Olive is back in her bed. Olive and Fiona as well as Enoch are already asleep and soon Emma and Jake are sleeping too. As the whole house is finally quiet, Alma can also relax and fall into a restful sleep.


	7. Chapter 5 Part I

**Chapter 5**

 **Part I**

On a Wednesday morning, Miss Peregrine is sitting at her desk, doing some paperwork. After walking the kids to school, she went grocery shopping before returning home. On her way inside she has brought in the post and is now flicking through the letters. They are mostly bills or advertisement but one is from the elementary school. Intently, she opens and reads it. It's just a note, reminding her that there's the school health examination coming up next week and what the children should bring with them.

 _Damn it._ Alma still hasn't made an appointment for the vaccinations and now the school wants to see the vaccinations card as well. Quickly Alma puts the letter aside and takes the phone. She dials the number of the doctor's office, that's still stored in the phone.

Immediately her call is answered by the friendly doctor's receptionist. Alma tells her that she needs an appointment for all her children as well as herself and as soon as their schedule allows. After looking it up, the woman tells her that they have some free time next week, but never so much time in a row. Since there are so many of them, it will be impossible for the doctor to see them all at once, at least not in the next 2 weeks. Reluctantly, Alma takes the separate appointments, planning on taking the younger ones first. Then it would still be one day before the school examination. After hanging up she writes all the appointments down and finishes with the rest of the paperwork, before picking up her children.

At 3 o'clock, after Emma and Jake have returned from school, Alma takes the boys to their soccer training. She always loves watching them play, especially the twins, who are getting better every day. She's really happy that they are so well accepted in their team.

Returning home, she sends all the boys to take a shower, one after another, and goes to put their dirty clothes in the washing machine. Luckily, the teenage couples have already prepared dinner, after Enoch and Olive returned from work. Today they are all eating homemade hamburgers with fries and some salad. It takes some time until all the boys are ready- one shower still isn't enough- but finally they join the others in the living room and eat together. During dinner, Miss Peregrine asks everyone about their day. "How was your presentation today, Horace and your art test, Olive and Emma?" Alma wants to know. Horace says that his presentation went well but that he won't get his mark until next week. And Olive and Emma are satisfied with their test but it could have been better. "He asked a lot of things that we didn't talk about in class," Olive complains about their teacher. "Just wait till you get the mark," Enoch says. "It has always been better than you thought so far, " he adds and feeds one of his fries to Olive, which makes the smaller children giggle.

"He's right," Miss Peregrine agrees. "I'm really proud of you all, all your marks are really good and your teachers have nothing to complain about." She eats some salad before adding: "Ah, before I forget, I've finally made a doctor's appointment for all of us."

This evokes different reactions from her children. Some of them look confused, others annoyed and some of them are even laughing. "Our vaccinations are long overdue and next week Claire and the twins have to see a doctor in school and they want to see that they're vaccinated," Miss Peregrine explains. Some of the children sigh, they don't know much about vaccinations but knowing that it involves needles, is enough to dislike it. "Unfortunately, I've only got separate appointments for us, not everyone on the same day, so the first ones will be the twins, Claire, Bronwyn and Fiona on Monday," Miss Peregrine informs them and then Alma stands up and begins to clear the table. As the older ones want to do the same she stops them. "No, you've already cooked. Let me do the cleaning and go get ready for bed before we can watch a short movie," she says winking at them.

After the movie, Alma quickly sends all of them to bed. It's no problem with the boys, as they're exhausted from training but it takes some time until Alma can get Claire and Bronwyn to calm down. They are lying in bed, still discussing the movie, not intending to fall asleep any time soon. Miss Peregrine sits down and reads them a story until they're slowly falling asleep. She covers them with their blankets, switches off the lights and leaves the room. Then she checks on the boys, who are already asleep, before knocking on the door of the girls. Hearing them answer, she enters and sees the girls already lying in bed but still talking. "Good night and sleep well," she says. "You too," Emma answers before Miss Peregrine leaves again.

To calm down a bit, Alma sits down on the couch with a glass of wine. Lately she has been having troubles sleeping again. Since she used up the medicine, Dr. Sands had given her, her nightmares have returned and she barely sleeps through anymore. Suddenly, the phone rings. Startled, Alma jumps to her feet and answers it.

Once again it is Dr. Sands. He lets Alma know that he has seen that she finally made an appointment. He says that he's a bit disappointed though, that she hasn't called him on his private phone. Alma explains that she had a lot to do and that she didn't think calling him directly would be appropriate for making a doctor's appointment. Then Mr. Sands offers to visit them tomorrow instead of seeing them in his office next week. In his opinion it's just easier to vaccinate them all at once than in steps. Alma doesn't want to accept his offer again, but she's in a bit of a hurry to get them all vaccinated so she says yes. Mr. Sands lets her know that he will come by after work, which is already at half past 2 on Thursdays and then wishes her a good night and hangs up. Of course, Alma could have asked him to get her another package of medicine, but she didn't want to bother him. Besides, she's not sure that she wants him to know about her problems. After all, they barely know each other.

Then Alma puts her glass away and gets ready for bed. She hopes for a peaceful night but don't think that will happen. Thinking about tomorrow, if all her children will be brave enough, what she can do to help them and how it will be to see Mr. Sands again, she finally falls into a restless sleep.

The next morning Alma wakes up to her alarm clock. She's feeling incredibly tired after waking up from her nightmares every hour and walks to her sink to splash some water into her face. Afterwards she gets ready and makes the breakfast for everyone. As she has finished with all the lunchboxes, Alma sits down with the others to eat some breakfast. Excitedly, the younger ones talk about the things they will do in school today. "Now, children, I have to tell you something," Alma says after they have calmed down a bit. "Dr. Sands called again last night and said that he would come to us for the vaccinations. Apparently it's a lot easier to do it all at once." Some of the children start sighing and Enoch says sarcastically: "Really?" He wants to add another inappropriate comment, but Olive silences him with a deep kiss on his lips. Immediately he forgets about Dr. Sands and responds by cupping Olive's cheek. Normally, Miss Peregrine would have said something, she doesn't allow these intimate actions at the table. But now it's at least distracting Enoch, so she continues instead. "I know, that some of you are scared. To be honest, I'm a little nervous too. But everything will be fine and you know that it's important. Besides, we're really lucky that Mr. Sands has worked us in on so such notice," Miss Peregrine explains.

"When is he going to come?" Emma cuts in. "He said something about after work at approximately half past 2," Alma answers. "That's a problem," Jake says," Emma and I are working today."

"Oh, I totally forgot about that," Miss Peregrine says thinking about what to do. "Then you can come by later and maybe Emma can even finish earlier today? You have got all vaccinations, don't you Jake?" she asks. "Yes, I guess so. If we can't both go I will send Emma home earlier," Jake answers.

"Another thing, what are we going to do with Millard?" Olive points out. "Good question, Olive, I've been thinking about that too. I guess it's not a problem to convince him, that Millard doesn't need them because he has already been vaccinated. But that's not the solution," Alma says.

"That's ok, I don't need to get them, anyway," Millard says. "No way, Millard," Miss Peregrine says sternly. "But why can't we tell him the truth, then Ethan can do this thing to Millard, too," Claire suggests. The other children start discussing this until Miss Peregrine stops them. "Sorry, darling but we can't do that. It's really important that no one knows about our peculiarities, otherwise it can be very dangerous for us all, especially now here in 2017,do you understand that?" Alma explains and her children nod sadly. "Maybe I could vaccinate him," Enoch suggests. "How would you know how to do it or get the serum in the first place?" Emma asks, not pleased with this idea. "I don't know but at least it's an idea, do you have any better plans?," he retorts. "Maybe Millard could steal one of these serums when he's invisible and then Enoch can do it," Hugh suggests. "Who says, I want to get it done by Enoch anyway?" Millard intervenes. "No fighting, children," Alma says, then thinking about it. "I don't like the idea of stealing from Dr. Sands, and I haven't taught you to be like that, but as I see it, it's the best chance we have. But we'll talk about that later, now you have to go to school," she ends the conversation and stands up. As the children get their things and want to leave, Alma wishes them a good day. "Don't forget your biology record book, Hugh, you have to hand it in today," she reminds him. "And good luck with your history test, Horace, I bet it will be really easy for you." Then they all leave, including Alma and the younger ones.

Before noon, Alma tries to accomplish a lot of things. She wants to tidy the house and even bake a cake for the afternoon. But somehow, she has troubles concentrating. Her thoughts would always drift to the upcoming afternoon and meeting Dr. Sands again. He has definitely been very nice to her, even if his flirting was a bit embarrassing for her. Furthermore she feels a bit awkward because she hasn't called him. But then, he hasn't either and he's the man. So Alma decides, that it was his decision and that she shouldn't be the one to feel bad about it and finishes the housework.

As her children return from school, Alma is distracted enough and doesn't think about it anymore. She prepares something to eat, finishes the cake, checks the homework and sends the children, who've played outside during the school breaks to take a shower.

Enoch and Olive return just in time. As they bring their bags into their rooms, the doorbell rings already. Alma calls her children and tells them to be quiet and sit down on the couch. After telling Olive to get the rest, who've still not come out of their rooms, she opens the door. Smiling as always, Dr. Sands stands in front of the house, his bag in his left hand and a bouquet of flowers in his right. He holds it out for her. "That's for you, because it's such a lovely day," he says happily. Taking it, Alma feels her face blushing again, even though she really intended not do so again. "Thank you ,"she says, "these are really beautiful. But you shouldn't have. It's the same as last time, you're doing us a favour and we should get you something," she laughs and lets him enter the house.

"Please sit down," she tells him and points at the free seat on the couch. "Children, please say hello to Mr. Sands." "Ethan," he corrects her once more. "Yes of course," Alma laughs. "I always forget...So, what would you like to drink, Ethan?" she asks while putting the flowers into a vase and placing them on the dining table. "A glass of water is enough, thank you," he replies while greeting all the children. Before going into the kitchen Alma turns around. "Is there anything else that you will need?" Ethan thinks for a moment and then answers:" Just a small bin or something for the packaging waste will do." Then he begins to unpack his medical supplies. On seeing all the syringes, the younger children get scared and lean back into the couch to hide behind the older ones. Claire is sitting in between Olive and Enoch, who have the twins on their laps. Until Miss Peregrine returns, Ethan talks to the children, asking them how everything's going.

"How's your soccer training been, have you scored any more goals?" he asks the boys, who nod enthusiastically. "Well done, keep it up," Ethan ads. "Maybe I will be able to watch you play one day," he offers, which makes the boys really happy and excited. Then Miss Peregrine comes, gives him the bin and sits down on the opposite side of the coffee table. Immediately, Claire abandons her seat and climbs on her ymbryne's lap, who lays her arms around her.

"Ok, before we start, I need to talk a few things over with you," Ethan begins, looking at Miss Peregrine, who nods. "Since no one of you has been vaccinated before, we need to do the whole gamut. I've chosen the most important vaccinations for now. I'm going to use combination vaccines, which is quicker and has a lower risk of causing allergic reactions. Nonetheless we can't do everything at once, it will be too much, so we have to do several appointments now and need to repeat everything in the following months. " Most of the children look confused and don't understand a thing, Miss Peregrine feels the same but lets Ethan finish before asking any questions. "So I've made a plan for the next weeks: We're going to start with the first combination today, it's against diphtheria, tetanus, polio and pertussis and in addition we'll do the varicella vaccination. In 4 weeks we'll do the measles-mumps-rubella and hepatitis vaccinations. Furthermore we have to think about a HPV vaccination for the older girls."

At seeing Miss Peregrine's puzzled look, he explains about the higher risk of cervical cancer after an HPV infection and that the vaccination can be a prophylaxis but doesn't replace the yearly preventative examination at the gynaecologist. For Alma it's just too much. There's so much information about things, she hasn't heard about before, things, that weren't even known in 1940. During the last months, she has done her best to catch up on everything, of course she wants to do the best for her children, but she still doesn't understand all these health issues. Grateful she accepts Ethan's help and tells him that they will do everything he considers necessary. Then he informs them about possible risks but at the same time reassures them that it's really rare and that he hasn't experienced any so far.

"What's more common, are the usual side effects such as a local reaction at the injection site, a headache, chills or sometimes even fever. But that's just the normal immune reaction and nothing to worry about," he adds. As Ethan sees the worry in Alma's eyes, he reassures her that everything will be fine. "You're all fit at the moment, or is someone feeling a bit unwell?" he asks one last time before starting to get everything ready as all the kids shake their heads. Ethan makes his way over to Miss Peregrine and sits down next to her. "Shall we begin with you?" he asks," as some kind of role model?" Unsure Alma nods. She's a bit scared too but she can't appear so in front of her children, so she undresses first her left arm and holds Claire with her right. Gently, Dr. Sands cleans her shoulder with a disinfection swab and then takes the small syringe of the table. Clearly nervous now, Alma closes her eyes and hugs Claire. Then she feels the prick of the needle and shortly afterwards a pressure spreading out in her muscle. And before she can open her eyes again, Dr. Sands has already finished and pulled out the needle. He covers it with a small plaster and stands up to continue with her right arm and then with the rest of the children. "It wasn't that bad, was it?" he asks winking at her and Alma has to admit, that it's bearable, so she encourages her children to endure it. Ethan vaccinates one after another, the little ones on the laps of Enoch, Olive and Alma. Reluctantly, Enoch plays friendly and asks, if Ethan could show him how to do it because he's really interested in medicine. Gladly, Ethan explains everything and even lets him do it on one of the boys.

Ethan has brought some candy, so everyone can choose one after being vaccinated. As it's Olive's turn, Enoch takes her hand and kisses it to distract her. After Alma has told Ethan that Millard doesn't need any vaccinations, she sends Millard to get something. Instead he undresses and carefully sneaks back into the room to get the two syringes as well as a swab. If the children weren't so distracted by their fear of the needle, they would see the things flying through the room until they're gone through the door to the boy's bedroom.

Shortly before they are done, Emma and Jake return and join them on the couch. As there's not much space left, Emma sits down on Jake's lap, which she enjoys, especially as she feels the stinging and can squeeze his hand.

After Ethan has finished and cleaned up everything, he gives Miss Peregrine all the vaccination cards and a salve, that shall soothe the pain or swelling, if someone will get problems with the injection site.

After putting it all aside, Alma invites Ethan for afternoon coffee and as he hears that there will be cake he gladly accepts. The children are all over him and want him to come play with them again. Until Alma has prepared the table and served the cake, some coffee and some hot chocolate, Ethan plays hide and seek with the younger children. They wanted to play soccer again, but Ethan could convince them, that they shouldn't waste all their energy because their body will need it for the immune reaction. The older ones went to do their homework because they haven't had time after school.

During the meal, all of them laugh and enjoy the delicious cake. Afterwards they play a game of cards together, before the children go back to their rooms to play and the couples want to spend some time alone in their rooms. So Alma and Ethan are left at the table alone and continue their conversation. Until Alma sighs while supporting her head with her hand and Ethan looks her over. "You haven't had a good night again," he notices, "are the pills I gave you not working?" Alma shakes her head. "No, they were really good, I haven't slept so good in years but the package is empty," she explains. "You could have said something," Ethan laughs. "I'll bring some over soon," he then promises. "But you should come into my office, to let it check out, this constant sleep deficit isn't healthy and it must have a reason," he explains further. "Look around," Alma laughs," if this isn't enough to keep one from sleeping, what is?" "I've got the impression, that all your children are well-behaved and helpful," Ethan retorts," so there must be another reason. But let's think about that another time, for now let's just see how your exhausted body tolerates the vaccination," he says in his soothing voice and takes Alma's hand in his to caress it. Immediately she relaxes and nods.

After talking some more, Ethan eventually stands up and says goodbye. He tells Alma, that she can call him as soon as someone feels worth, but reminds her that some side effects are normal at the same time. At the door, he wishes her a good evening and hugs her before leaving in his car once more. Perplexed she closes the door and goes back into the living room to clean up and prepare a small dinner. She can't deny that it felt good to hug him, everything he does is so gentle and he always knows how to make her feel better.

After doing the dishes and putting a vegetable gratin in the oven, Alma goes to find Enoch and Millard. It's time to vaccinate him but Millard can't be found everywhere. They ask all the children but no one has seen him since they all sat at the table together. Concerned they all run around in the house. Then Fiona and Hugh call Miss Peregrine. They have found Millard's clothes, the ones he was wearing earlier. Alma knows exactly what's happened. She should have known it. Millard didn't want to be vaccinated in the first place and now he is hiding from them. But she wouldn't be Miss Peregrine, if she didn't know her children inside out. Driven by her instinct she goes outside, where it's already getting dark. She doesn't bother calling him, as he wouldn't answer anyway. But after a couple of minutes she can feel that he is close. "I thought you were here somewhere," she says and sits down next to Millard on the garden bench. "How did you find me?" he asks disappointed. "You know, I'll always find you," Alma answers and takes his hand. "I know, that you're scared, I was too, but it's not that bad," she tries to convince him. "But you didn't get vaccinated by Enoch," Millard complains. "That's right. But Hugh did and he's still alive, so Enoch can't be that bad," Alma laughs and squeezes Millard's hand. After a few minutes of silence, Millard gets up and together they walk inside, where Enoch is already waiting. The other children have already gone into their rooms again and they are all alone in the living room. Alma and Millard sit down on the couch and Enoch gets everything ready. After asking Millard for his permission, Enoch gently vaccinates him. "I'm sorry that I don't have any sweets but I think you'll survive it nonetheless," he jokes and clears the waste away. "And?" Alma asked. "It wasn't so bad, was it?" Millard shakes his head but as he remembers that she can't see it, because he's still naked he says: "No, it was alright, I guess."

Until dinner is ready, Alma gets complaints from nearly all her children. Most of them say that their arms are sore and when she takes a look she can see that some of their injection sites are indeed swollen and red. She tells them that it's normal and that they should go and play again to distract themselves. But she knows how they must feel, because hers hurts as well and she can even feel a headache coming up. As she's setting the table, Emma and Jake are coming out of the girls room. Emma doesn't look so good and Jake has put his arm around her waist to support her.

"Miss P.," Emma begins," I'm feeling quite dizzy, do you think that's still normal?" she asks a bit scared. Concerned, Alma walks over to her and touches her forehead. "You don't have a fever, so that's good," she says. "Ethan said that it can happen as well, so I wouldn't worry just yet. Go and lie down on the couch, I'll bring you something to eat and drink- and Jake can you stay with her?" Miss Peregrine asks. Nodding, Jake steers Emma towards the couch and helps her lie down.

After caring for Emma, Miss Peregrine gets the other children for dinner. As they finish, everyone goes to get ready because Miss Peregrine promised that they could watch another short movie before going to sleep.

During the movie, Alma observes her children closely. Emma is lying on Jake's lap, and does seem to feel a bit better. The other children seem quite ok, from time to time touching or scratching their shoulders. All in all, they seem to be very tired, so she decides to send them to bed earlier than usual.

None of the children complain as Alma stops the movie and tells them that they can finish it tomorrow, they are all really tired and go to bed immediately. The little ones keep complaining about the pain, so as they lie in bed, Alma sits down next to them and puts some of the salve on their arms. Before going to bed herself she checks on the older ones. The boys are alright, just feeling a bit tired, Emma is still feeling a bit dizzy and has a headache and Olive says she feels like she's having a flu but she will be alright. Enoch and Jake promise to look after their girls, so Alma decides to make an exception and lets them share a room tonight. After they all promise to come and get her if someone's feeling worse, she leaves their rooms and goes to the living room to clean up the rest.

Just as she decides to skip her glass of wine today and go to bed immediately, the phone rings again. This time she doesn't have to think about it to know that it will be Ethan. He had promised to call to see if everyone was still fine. Alma tells him about her children's discomforts and he reassures her that it's all still alright. Ethan reminds her of the symptoms which can indicate an allergic reaction and when she should call him immediately. Then he asks about her and she tells him that she has got a headache but nothing else so far and that it will surely go away after some sleep. "That's good," he answers," because I would like to take you out for a coffee tomorrow morning. One patient cancelled, so I will have a short break at 9.30, will you be free? The cafe is right next to my office" he explains expectantly. Because Alma enjoyed the afternoon with Ethan a lot, she doesn't have any difficulties saying yes. Ethan says he's looking forward to the next morning and then wishes her a good night and before hanging up he gives her a few tips for a deep sleep.

But it doesn't help much. Her headache is bothering her to the point that she can't fall asleep and as she's finally able to relax enough, her nightmares return and she awakes to the twins standing next to her bed. Obviously, they're feeling unwell as well so she allows them to sleep next to her. She checks their temperature but it's alright. It has always been hard with them, cause they can't tell her what's wrong but luckily they're rarely sick and so far, Alma has always been able to find out if something was wrong with them.

Hugging their ymbryne, the twins quickly fall asleep but Alma still lies awake. She has already felt too warm in her bed and now with the twins so close to her it's only worse. She tries to relax and to enjoy sleeping arm in arm with her beloved children and eventually it works and she can fall asleep. She should try that more often, apparently, her children have a soothing effect on her and she doesn't have any more nightmares for the night.


	8. Chapter 5 Part II

**Chapter 5 Part II**

The next morning is hard for all of them. Everyone comes out of their room sleepily. While they are eating, Alma asks everyone of them how he's feeling and observes them closely. She wouldn't want to send another sick child to school. Luckily everyone seems to be alright apart from feeling tired. Just Emma looks a bit sick, so Alma checks her temperature, but it's alright and her dizziness has also subsided enough. Olive is feeling a bit better as well and Enoch and Jake promise to take good care of them, so Alma lets them all go to school. Since she can't see Millard, she has to take his word for it but she doesn't think he would lie just to go to school.

"It's the last school day for this week so you can get your strength back on the weekend," Miss Peregrine says. "So, if you all think you're well enough we should go now."

Alma walks Claire and the twins to school and then thinks about going back home. But she decides against it because it's not enough time until she meets Dr. Sands. She would only have 45 minutes at home, while spending as much time only to get there and then to the cafe. So instead she goes into the city to buy some things she's been needing for some time now. Besides, it's Enoch's birthday in a few weeks and she's got no idea what to get him.

The time flies while Alma does her shopping, even if she still feels a bit off-colour. She goes into a few stores which sell computer stuff, but she doesn't understand these new things. In between, she buys some other things she needs, like wrapping paper and kitchen stuff. Mrs. Portman's kitchen is good equipped but she's not a real housewife, so there are some things missing, that Alma needs to bake the birthday cake for her boy. Before she can decide on something for Enoch, it's already time to take the bus to the cafe. Alma is looking forward to it, but she hopes that it will be over soon as well. She's really tired and unfortunately her headache has returned too, so she hopes she has enough time to lie down again before picking up her children.

She finds the cafe immediately, Ethan was right, it's really directly opposite to his office. Ethan's already sitting at a table in the corner, smiles and waves at her. Alma places her shopping bags next to the table and sits down. As Alma takes off her jacket, Ethan asks her what she wants to drink and then orders as she tells him she takes the same as he has.

"I see you went shopping," Ethan notices. "Yes, I had some free time and I still needed a birthday present for Enoch," she explains. "And, did you find anything?" Ethan asks curious. Alma shakes her head. "I've got no idea, what a boy at his age wants and all this new technology is too confusing for me," she laughs. Ethan laughs as well but then offers to talk to Enoch and go shopping with her another day. Gladly, Alma accepts his offer and takes a few sips of her coffee.

As she pinches the bridge of her nose, Ethan tilts his head and looks at her. "Hey what's wrong?" he asks. Immediately, Alma stops and looks back up at him, shaking her head. "Nothing, just a headache, that's all," she answers and quickly changes the subject before he can ask more questions.

They both talk for some time, about nearly everything and they laugh a lot. Once, Alma nearly choked on her coffee, as Ethan made her laugh again. "Don't worry, I'm a doctor and I can resuscitate you," he jokes, which didn't make it any better.

After some time, Ethan finally addresses the subject, Alma has feared for days. "This is really nice," he says. "It's a pity, though, that we didn't do this earlier, don't you think?" "Definitely!" Alma answers, feeling a bit awkward again for the first time today. "I didn't think you would, actually," Ethan admits. "You didn't seem interested so far." "I thought the same," Alma says shyly. She doesn't dare to look into his eyes until he begins to laugh and she can't help joining him.

Straightaway, the comfortable atmosphere is restored and they keep talking and laughing until Alma starts shivering. "Is it cold in here or is it just me?" she asks Ethan, who shrugs. "I don't know, but I don't think so. I'm feeling quite warm to be honest," he says looking closely at Alma. She's still shivering a bit and for the first time today, Ethan can see how pale she really is. How could he have missed something like that. Probably, he has been too mesmerised by her charisma and her smile. She looks incredible when she laughs, which she has a lot today. And furthermore, she has been really good at hiding her discomfort. Ethan is sure that she must have mastered that during the years she has been taking care of her children.

"Hey, you're not feeling too good, are you?" he asks directly. "Not really," Alma admits, starting to rub her arms. Concerned, Ethan stands up and walks over to her, to touch her forehead. "You've got a bit of a temperature," he points out." No wonder you're having the chills." "Really?" Alma asks astonished. "Unfortunately," Ethan replies," How long has this been going on?" Alma shrugs. "I've got no idea, I didn't even notice it until now. But I've been feeling a bit unwell since last evening," she admits.

"It's ok," Ethan reassures her. " I've told you that's not an uncommon side effect and because your fever isn't too high, I wouldn't worry," he says, now rubbing Alma's arms instead of her, careful not to touch her injection sites. "I've still got enough time to bring you home, then you can lie down for the rest of the day," he adds.

"No, I can't," Alma argues," I've got to pick up the children and cook." "Can't the older ones do that for once?" Ethan asks. Alma shakes her head. "No, they're not back until later. Besides, they're all feeling a bit off-colour and they already had to go to school, I don't want them to do more," she explains. "But you're reaction is the strongest and you need to rest your body. We wouldn't want you to get really sick, then we have to interrupt your round of vaccinations," he explains seriously. Feeling that he's right, Alma accepts his help, still not having the slightest idea, what to do about later. Ethan pays for their drinks, then helps Alma with her bags and goes to his car with her.

At home, Alma opens the front door and hangs up her jacket. Meanwhile Ethan places her bags on the table. "You should drink a lot until the fever's gone," he advises as Alma joins him. He makes her sit down and goes into the kitchen to get something to drink for her. "I can still do that on my own, I'm not that sick," Alma argues. "I know," she hears him saying from the kitchen, looking for the glasses in the cabinets. Finally he returns with a glass of water for Alma.

"When do your children need to be picked up?" he asks, sitting down next to her. "At 12 o 'clock." "Okay, I will have a break at 12.30 but I may be able to leave a bit earlier. If they can wait a couple of minutes, I can bring them here," he offers. "That's no problem, I can call the school to let them know, but do you really want to waste another break for us?" Alma asks while finishing her drink. Gently, Ethan takes her left hand in his and caresses her palm with his thumb. "That's no trouble at all and I would do a lot more if necessary, I hope you know that," he says while kissing Alma's hand. Alma is too touched and grateful to feel awkward or blush again. "Thank you so much," she says instead and strokes his hands. Then they both stand up and Ethan walks Alma towards her room. At the door, she stops. "I'm fine, really," she says. "No, no, I won't leave until you're lying," he insists laughing. But he waits outside until Alma has changed her clothes. As she climbs into bed, she calls for him and he enters her room. He's not surprised to see a well-organized and beautifully decorated room. He looks around and sees all the colourful pictures, which must have been painted by her children. Approaching the bed, he pulls up the blanket to cover her fully. A last time, he checks her temperature on her forehead. "It's still not really high," he informs her. Before leaving, he kisses the back of her hand and says winking:" Don't forget to drink enough." Then he leaves the house, to hurry back to his office, his next patient must already be waiting to see him.

At 12.25 Ethan arrives in front of the school. Quickly he leaves his car and runs across the schoolyard. He has promised to pick up Alma's children and doesn't want them to wait longer than necessary. Entering the building he meets a young man, who tells him where he can find Claire and the twins. In an athletic way he walks up the stairs and finds the children in a playroom. At the door stands a friendly looking woman who stops him immediately. "You must be Mr. Sands," she says. "Mrs. Peregrine has called us to let us know that you will be coming to pick them up," she adds as Ethan nods. "Claire, could you three come, please?" she then shouts into the room. And soon Claire and the twins join them in the door.

"Ethan!" Claire shouts at seeing him. "Hey," Ethan says," I'm picking you up today, I hope it's alright?" "Of course," Claire says, running towards him and jumping into his arms. Ethan catches her and then holds her in his arms as the twins come towards him as well. Hugging Ethan, Claire begins to think. "But where's Miss Peregrine?" she asks, making a serious face. "First of all, come with me and we'll talk about that later in my car," Ethan suggests, placing Claire back on the ground.

While Claire and the twins get their bags and jackets, Ethan says goodbye to the woman. Together they walk towards his car, the children really excited about going by car and then even in a really big one. As Ethan doesn't have any car seats, he hopes it's going to be alright for the short tour. While they drive down the road Claire repeats her question. Carefully, Ethan explains about their ymbryne. "Alma isn't feeling so good after the vaccination yesterday," he says." she's got a bit of a fever, but don't worry, she's gonna be fine. She just needs some rest and that's why I'm here to pick you up." As Ethan sees their worried faces in the rear-view mirror, he says:" Anybody hungry? I thought we could stop by at a drive-in restaurant."

Instantly, their faces light up again. "Oh yes. I've always wanted to do that," Claire shouts and the twins begin to clap their hands in joy. " I guess it's a lot easier this way, you wouldn't want to try my cooking," Ethan laughs.

As they reach the restaurant, Claire reminds Ethan, that the other children will come home soon and will need something to eat as well. Naturally Ethan doesn't hesitate and orders something to eat for all of them. Then he drives back to their house and together they leave the car, Claire and the twins proudly carrying the bags with their food. As they reach the front door, Alma is already opening it for them.

"Hey, shouldn't you be in bed?" Ethan greets her as the three children try to hug her as best as possible with two big paper bags in their arms. "I'm already feeling better," Alma says while letting them enter past her. "But I'll take it easy, I promise."

The children place the bags on the table and go to wash their hands. "Hungry?" Ethan asks as he and Alma enter the living room. "I thought it's a good idea to get something to eat as well," he explains, "I'm not really good at cooking." "Thank you but I'm not hungry at the moment," she answers. "How much do I owe you?" "Nothing!" Ethan says promptly. "It was my treat for the children and you of course." "If you're sure, thank you then," Alma says as the little ones come back. "Children, say thank you to Ethan for the food and for picking you up, please." All three of them give their thanks in their own way before sitting down at the table. Alma has gotten some plates and cutlery as well as something to drink, so the little ones can start eating. Soon they are joined by Fiona, Bronwyn and Hugh, who are really excited to eat something new for lunch. Alma has sat down with them, drinking some more water and Ethan is standing behind her, gently kneading her shoulder muscles. "I've bought enough food for all of you, so you don't have to cook all day. Please eat something yourself when you feel up to it," he advises. "And if you're not feeling better tomorrow, you call me, understood?" he says grabbing her more tightly to tease her but still gentle enough . "Yes sir," Alma jokes and leans back into him. He bends down and kisses her head. "Ok then, I have to leave again. I'll stop by tomorrow to give you new tablets. But please don't push yourself too hard. You're children are all here to help you, right children!," he says addressing all the others, who nod eagerly. "See," he says before squeezing her hand. Alma turns around to stand up, but Ethan stops her. "Please stay seated, I'll find my way out." Then he says goodbye to them all and leaves. As he closes the door, Alma is still smiling. She hasn't fully realized how their relationship has changed during the last days but she enjoys the time she spends with Ethan. Especially how he makes her feel or when he jokes with her.

The rest of the day, they all take it easy. Alma spends most of the time on the couch. From time to time, her children come by to ask her for help with their homework or just to lie with her. Especially the younger ones are still weakened as well.

As the older ones return from school, they sit down to eat some of the food, Ethan has bought. Of course they noticed that something is different, the moment they entered the house. Miss Peregrine lets them know, that Ethan came to help them because she was feeling a bit sick but also tells them that they don't need to worry. She inquires how they are all feeling and is relieved to hear, that Olive and even Emma are feeling fine again.

In the evening, Alma just cuts up some fruit and together they sit down and eat something before going to bed early. They're all feeling really tired, it was a long day for them all.

The next morning they all sleep late but luckily, everyone already feels better during the day. Nonetheless, they use the weekend to relax and gather energy for the new week. Alma tries to catch up a bit with the housework but spends more time just sitting in the garden, watching her children play. Emma, Jake, Enoch and Olive help a bit but the rest of the time they are in their rooms, lying on their beds, just listening to music and talking.

The next week is a normal week for them all. The health examination of the little ones work out well, but of course they bring a note home, reminding Miss Peregrine not to forget the next vaccinations.

Four weeks later, they meet up with Ethan for the second round of vaccinations. It have been four weeks during which they have seen Ethan a lot. He has stopped by after work and sometimes even on the weekends or he has come to pick up Alma for the cinema, to go to a restaurant or something else.

She didn't want to go out so often, but Emma and Olive convinced her, that it makes her happy and that she deserves having a life of her own. Besides, she has to admit, that the time with Ethan always lifts her spirits. He makes her laugh a lot and she feels save when she's with him. At home, she's always the one who's responsible and has to take care of everyone. Of course she loves being there for her children, they are her life. But it feels good to give up the responsibility and be cared for by another adult as well.

When Ethan comes to visit them, he plays a lot with the children. Sometimes Alma gets the impression, that he's doing it for himself as well as for the children. It's funny to see him running around playing tag or hide and seek. These are the moments when Alma wonders why he hasn't got a wife and children of his own. But then she decides not to think about that and enjoy the moment without thinking about the future.

As they meet in the living room for the vaccinations, they are all less scared. It's much quicker today and the children nearly forget about it after they're done and go play again. This time, Alma feels even more terrible about stealing from Ethan, but they don't have another choice if she wants Millard vaccinated as well. And telling Ethan about them is no alternative. After Ethan has finished, he asks Emma, Olive and Alma to stay with him for another while to talk about the HPV vaccination. He informs them about everything, and as they agree he makes another appointment for them in a couple of weeks.

"But despite the vaccination, you will still have to go to the preventive examination at your gynaecologist," he reminds them and then adds:" Have you been to a gynaecologist, yet?" As both girls shake their heads he asks how old they are. "Ok, then you've still got time," he says. "But as soon as you're sexually active you should go and see one." Emma and Olive blush a bit. Normally they're not so prudish, but talking to a man, that they haven't known for so long, about something they haven't even talked to Miss Peregrine about, is more than they can take. Noticing their discomfort, Alma allows them to stand up and join the others, while she keeps talking to Ethan. He explains to her that it's important for them to wait with any sexual intercourse until they're through with the HPV vaccination and Alma assures him that she will talk to them.

"Do you even have a gynaecologist here, yet?" he then asks her. Alma shakes her head.

"I've got a friend who is gynaecologist and I'm sure that she's still taking new patients. I can give you her number, than you can talk to her. She's really funny but thoughtful at the same time, it will be really good for the girls when they have their first appointment. But if she says no, tell her that I've sent you, she still owes me for something" Ethan laughs, winking at Alma. "Ok, thank you, that's really kind," Alma says, thinking that it will be good for her as well as the girls. Of course she's read about gynaecologists but has postponed finding one for them, she simply thought, that there were more pressing matters. But everything Ethan has told her sounded pretty serious, so she will call this friend of him soon to make an appointment for herself. She's feeling a bit embarrassed and is really happy that Ethan doesn't know that she has never been to one before as well.

Alma and Ethan keep talking about the HPV vaccination for some more time. He informs her that it's normally intended for young girls but that it can even be reasonable for adults, who even have come in contact with the virus before. He lets her know about new studies on the subject. Before ending this conversation, Ethan tells her to take her time to think about it and if she wants to let it get done, he'll vaccinate her together with the girls.

After Ethan has left, Enoch vaccinates Millard, this time without any complications on Millard's side. All in all everyone tolerates the immunization a lot better than last time. Some of the children feel a bit tired again, the twins show signs of mild postvaccinal measles and Fiona complains about aching muscles, which Alma completely understands, because she's feeling the same, but nothing more.

Nonetheless Ethan visits the next day to check on them all but is pleased with their condition. Before leaving again though, he calls all of them to him and Alma in the living room. Excitingly, the children gather around the coffee table, waiting for him to speak.

"As you all know, we're through with the first round of vaccinations and therefore I've got a surprise for you all," Ethan begins to say and looks around at all the delighted faces. Even Miss Peregrine doesn't know what he will say and looks at him expectantly. Millard is the first one to say something. "What is it?" he asks curious. "There, there, someone's impatient," Ethan jokes, clearly enjoying the situation. After some time he continues. "Because you have been so brave, I thought we can spend the Saturday on my boat," he breaks the news to all of them.

"You have a boat?" Alma asks astonished but she could barely be heard over the cheering of the children. They haven't been on a boat for some time now and are clearly excited about the thought of spending a whole day at sea and even on a modern boat. Most of the children have already seen such boats at the port and have admired their appearance and technology. "Yes I do," Ethan says smiling, " and it's even big enough for all of us."

"Yay!" Claire exclaims and Bronwyn joins her: "Can we drive far enough to see some dolphins?" "Oh yes, I've always wanted to swim with dolphins," Fiona says. "Does your boat have a lying surface and a ladder to go swimming?" Olive asks excitedly looking back at Emma who is clearly keen as well.

"Yes, we can do that and yes it has all these things and a lot more," Ethan laughs and then sits down next to Alma, who still hasn't said anything. "Wow," she finally finds her voice again. "And you want all of us on your boat? Have you thought about it?" she asks, now laughing as well. "Yes my dear Alma, I have. And nothing would make me more happy, than spending the day with you and your children, lying in the sun, enjoying the sea air," he assures her while kissing her hand.

"Really," Alma wants to make sure. Gently, Ethan turns her around. "Oh Alma, stop doubting everything for god's sake. I'm here, am I not? And I'm here on my own account and that's because I really like you as well as your children. And that's the last time I say that. I can understand that you've given up on finding someone, who wants you and your children. But it's what I want, do you understand?" During his speech, Alma has tried to hold back her tears, but it's clearly difficult for her. Gently, Ethan cups her face. "I'm here, Alma," he repeats. "I can't promise anything, but I want to enjoy the time we have together, with you and your children, nothing more for now"

Clearly touched by his words, Alma flings her hands around his neck. Until now the other children haven't noticed their conversation, absorbed in their own discussion and joy about the boat trip. But now they are all looking at the hugging adults. Slowly, Alma pulls away. "Thank you," she says. "I really appreciate it and I love spending time with you as well but I can't promise anything either. It's not easy with so many children and most of the time we make more problems than we do good," Alma tries to explain. It's true, she likes Ethan and enjoys their time together and he was right, it's not easy to find someone who likes her children as well. But Alma isn't sure if she's ready to let someone get so close.

Even if they're not living in a loop anymore, she's still their ymbryne and her duty is to care for them, always. There are a lot of reasons why ymbrynes don't have partners. She can't tell Ethan about their secrets, ever! But then, she doesn't have to, to spend time with him. And as he said, they can still enjoy the time they have together regardless what the future holds. So Alma makes the decision to open up to Ethan. During the last weeks, she has enjoyed being with him but has always tried to keep her distance as best as she could. But from now on she will change that. She's finally arrived in this time as well and she will do her best to enjoy it while still taking care of her children.


	9. Chapter 6 Part I

**Chapter 6**

 **Part I**

Enoch and Olive are lying in Enoch's and Jake's room, enjoying their time together. Outside of the room, all the other children run around playing or fighting like in a normal family with many siblings. It's the day before Enoch's 18th birthday. Therefore, Alma is in the kitchen baking a big, tasty birthday cake for her boy. Claire and Bronwyn are with her, because she wanted them to learn how to do it as well. The twins and Hugh are playing hide and seek in the house because it's raining outside, while Millard and Horace try to watch a documentary on TV. This proves not to be so easy with someone counting loudly while the other two are constantly blocking their vision while running around to find a hiding place. That's why they are fighting every now and then.

Enoch is sitting on his bed, finishing his homework, while Olive lies on his lap, distracting him as best as she can. Olive has already finished her homework because she came home earlier. As soon as Enoch arrived at home, he was sent into his room, undesired in the rest of the house, as all the others were preparing his presents or baking.

Now they are waiting for Emma and Jake, who had to work today but should return any minute now. Annoyed, Enoch puts away his schoolbook and gives in to Olive's caressing. At the moment he's really happy, though. He has a beautiful girlfriend who loves him and tomorrow is his birthday. Secretly, he's already wondering what presents he will get. He hasn't enjoyed birthdays much in their old loop, it was always the same, but here he has so many possibilities, what to do and what presents he could wish for.

While they are lying on top of each other, kissing, the door opens and Emma and Jake enter. "Gross!" Jake jokes laughing. "Go and get your own room if you can't hold yourself back." Behind him, Emma enters as well, giggling. "Oh, Jake, let them. Or don't you understand them," she laughs and kisses him. Jake blushes a bit. It's true. If it was possible, he would love to do the same thing with Emma all day long. But together, here in his room, while Olive and Enoch are on the other bed, was no option. So instead he sits down at his desks to do his own homework, while Enoch climbs of Olive and resumes his previous position. Emma sits down on Jake's bed and watches the couple at the opposite side of the room. They really look happy. She hopes, that their relationship as well as hers with Jake will work out for a long time.

"What's happening outside?" Olive asked after some time. "Yes, it's so quiet, have they stopped fighting?" Enoch joins the conversation."Yes, I think so," Emma answers unsure. "As we entered the house it was already like this, so I wouldn't know what they did before," she explains. "At the moment they're all in their rooms, except for Miss P. and Claire and Bronwyn. They're busy in the kitchen, but Miss P. is on the phone"

"I hope the girls have washed their hands before helping with my cake," Enoch grumbles. "I'm sure of it," Olive laughs while tickling Enoch, to improve his mood. "You know how strict Miss P. is, Enoch," Emma adds. "How come you're so moody all of a sudden," Jake joins in. "A couple of minutes ago, you seemed quite the opposite. You're not mad at us for disturbing you, are you?" he asks.

"No, of course not," Enoch says. "It's nothing," he tries to play it down. "Doesn't look like it," Olive concludes. "Spit it out," Jake says.

"I know it," Emma says annoyed as Enoch still hesitates. "It's because of Ethan again, because I mentioned Miss Peregrine being on the phone, right?" she guesses while Olive and Jake sigh in annoyance.

"Really?" Jake adds. "You're still not over that?" Olive asks. Enoch just rolls his eyes. "He just gets on my nerves. Doesn't he have a life of his own? He seems to be either at work or here. Doesn't he have a house?" Enoch retorts annoyed.

"Oh Enoch, he's here because he likes spending time with Miss P., you know that. And what's so bad about it anyway?" Emma asks. "Yes, all the others like him, why can't you?" Jake adds. "Or are you jealous?" Olive asks sitting up quickly to look at Enoch properly. "Of course not," he tries to explain himself. "And I didn't say that I don't like him either." "You didn't?" Emma asks sarcastically. "No, I didn't," Enoch repeats. "He's nice and charming and would be a good catch for someone else, but I simply think that he's not good for Miss P., that's all. And he being here every day is annoying, you can't even have your freedom in your own house anymore. He's just our GP, it's time that he remembers that."

"You're wrong, Enoch," Olive cuts in. "So wrong!" Emma says. "He's a lot more now and it's time that you understand that, Enoch," she says angry. "Miss Peregrine likes him and he's good for her, I don't get where you got the idea that he's bad for her. Don't you see how happy she is when he's around?" "No he doesn't," Jake says. "He's always busy sulking when Ethan is here." "That's not true!" Enoch argues. "But don't you see what he's doing? He makes her weak and vulnerable. And Miss P. doesn't need a man like him, she has always been strong on her own." "Why do you think she's weak now?" Olive asked puzzled. But Enoch doesn't get the chance to answer because the door opens and Miss P. enters. Obviously she didn't hear them arguing and doesn't notice the looks on their faces. In her left hand, she holds a canning glass with a screw cap.

"I need someone strong," she says, holding out the glass." Can someone please open it? I can't do it alone and the little ones didn't have enough strength," she explains. Immediately, Emma, who has been sitting the closest to the door, jumps to her feet and takes the glass. Confused, Enoch looks at his ymbryne. _Why does nobody else wonder why she can't do it on her own, they seem to accept it as the most natural thing._

Then Enoch notices Miss Peregrine's left hand on the doorhandle. It's bandaged and she holds it in a relieving posture. _What happened to_ _her again_? Enoch shakes his head but decides not to say anything and waits till she leaves again.

Grateful, Alma takes back the glass and turns around. "Thank you, Emma. And Enoch, don't you dare come outside your room until I'll get you," she jokes, winking at him and then she's gone.

"See, that's exactly what I meant," Enoch keeps debating. "Don't you notice? She's always injured, tired or sick since he showed up. A couple of weeks ago he made her spend the whole day in bed because she had a headache and only last week, she had to stay on the couch because of her back pain. She's not the Miss Peregrine, she used to be anymore," Enoch concludes.

Emma has lost her voice, panting with rage and desperately searching for the right words. Olive just sighs. "Are you really this unperceptive? I thought you're a lot smarter," she says disappointed. "He's blind with jealousy," Jake answers while Enoch looks at all of them. "What do you mean?," he asks confused.

"Oh Enoch," Emma finally begins. "Miss P. hasn't changed a bit, it has always been like this, she just didn't let her aches and pains show. The only thing Ethan does, is caring for her and he's the only one who can see through her and makes her take care of her own body. It's a shame, that we didn't do that. Miss P. has always been there for us and we failed to return it. She's stayed with us when we were sick or had a bad dream, but who's there when she wakes up from a nightmare, lies awake the whole night and can't keep her eyes open the following day?" Emma asks.

"How do you know these things?" Enoch stammers. "Oh Enoch," Olive sighs again. "You're really blind to your surroundings"

"We girls just notice something like that," Emma explains in a kinder voice as she sees Enoch's befuddled look.

"I don't blame you," she continues. "You only meant well for Miss Peregrine, but please stop badmouthing Ethan. He's really good for her, believe us."

"Just see it like this," Olive says and leans back into Enoch. "If Miss P. is distracted, she doesn't bother so much about what we do." Then she kisses him. Reluctantly, Enoch breaks the kiss and grumbles: "Ok, ok, I'll try."

In the kitchen, Miss Peregrine is mixing the cake dough. Seriously, she explains what ingredients one needs and what's the right consistency, but Claire and Bronwyn only care about tasting it. Still they have to help a lot with everything, that Miss Peregrine can't do with only one hand.

Two days ago, while working in the garden, Alma had got a splinter in her right hand. It was no big deal, so she just put a plaster on it and went on but yesterday it started to really hurt, so Alma took another look and had to see that it had become infected. She cleaned it as best as she could and put another plaster on it, thinking that it will heal on its own. How many times had she had a minor injury like this in their old home and it all healed after some time. Waking up this morning she had to notice that this soon will take longer than desired, though. Her hand was still hurting and on inspecting it she saw that it got swollen over night. Nonetheless she got up and started with her daily duties. She couldn't rest her hand, as she needed it for the preparations for Enoch's birthday tomorrow. After her children had left for school she went to change the plaster once more and also cleaned the wound. Alma guessed that it's still so bad because she wasn't able to remove the splinter, so she tried again. After some attempts she had to stop though, it was too painful and she didn't have the right tools for it. But she was still sure that it will heal alone, it will just take some time. Until she had to pick up the children, she cleaned the house and went to get all the ingredients for the cake. Returning with the twins and Claire, she made some sandwiches and helped them with their homework.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. _Strange_ she thought _Had the older ones forgotten their key?_ Quickly she opened the door, in case it was Enoch, he shouldn't see all the groceries on the table. But it wasn't Enoch, it was Ethan. During his lunchbreak he would sometimes stop by, either with food or he would eat with them. Today he hadn't gotten anything, so Alma gave him some of the sandwiches and he sat down with Fiona, Hugh and Bronwyn. Afterwards he joined Alma in the kitchen, who was unpacking the grocery-bags. He stood behind her, his arms around her waist and his head leaning on her shoulder. Because he wanted her all to himself and she wouldn't stop working he wanted to capture both her hands, so she had to stop. But as soon as he touched her right hand, he felt her wincing and then she hissed in pain. Perplexed, he turned her around to look at her. Alma should have known it. She could never hide something like that from him. Concerned, he took a look at her hand and was shocked as he saw the small wound. It took him half an hour to really clean it and to properly remove the splinter. For Alma it was horrible, since it hurt like hell but she was to proud to let him see it. In the end he also had to give her a passive immunisation because her tetanus vaccinations weren't complete yet. Then he really had to hurry because he was already late for his next appointment, but he didn't leave without reprimanding her severely for not telling him earlier. Ethan then bandaged her hand so that she couldn't use it anymore.

Something that's really annoying now as she prepares the cake, but somehow Alma is quite grateful, too. Her hand is still hurting terribly, and she knows herself too well: She would never rest her hand if she wasn't forced to.

So now Claire and Bronwyn have to do most of their work, which at least makes them learn it faster. Carefully they place the cake tin in the oven, Alma taking good care, that no one gets burned. While waiting for it to bake, they prepare the white chocolate cream. Enoch has always loved chocolate and therefore it wasn't a surprise to Alma, that her boy asked for the same cake as the last 100 years.

As the alarm clock goes off, they take out the cake and place it in front of the terrace door to cool down.

"What if some animals come and try the tasty cake?" Claire points out. "They wouldn't dare," Miss Peregrine explains amused," it's still too hot to touch." Then Alma sends Claire and Bronwyn to play with the others. There's still some time until the cake and the cream are cold enough and they can finish the cake.

In the meantime, Alma starts the dinner preparations as best as she can. As the cake is ready, she calls Claire and Bronwyn and together they decorate it with the cream and write Enoch's name and age on top of it before placing it in the fridge until tomorrow. Finally, Alma can release Enoch and gets the 4 teenagers to help her with the dinner. As it's quite crowded in the kitchen with all 5 of them in there, Olive and Emma offer to take over and send Miss Peregrine into the living room, which she gladly accepts.

After dinner they all go to bed, to be well rested for the big day tomorrow. Alma uses the time to wrap Enoch's gift. She's really pleased with it in the end. Ethan had kept his promise and talked to Enoch, inconspicuously finding out what he would like to have. It turned out that his biggest wish seems to be a Smartphone, so Ethan took Alma to a store and showed her the most recent model.

Before leaving for her room, she already sets the table for breakfast and decorates it with a bunch of flowers in a vase and a floral wreath around Enoch's plate.

Exhausted, Alma switches off the light after checking on all her children and goes into her room. She gets ready for bed but before lying down she decides to go back into the kitchen to get a cooling pack out of the freezer for her hand. She wants it to get better as soon as possible. Depending on her children to help her was bad enough for one day and tomorrow she wants to do everything on her own again. She also drinks a glass of water and then takes one of her tablets before going to sleep.

The next morning, Alma gets up earlier than usual to get everything ready. After finishing the breakfast and placing the cake on the table she wakes her children. Excited they hurry to get ready and then gather around the table before Enoch arrives. As he enters the living room, they begin to sing "Happy Birthday" for him. Smiling and in an unusually good mood he sits down.

"Thank you all very much," he says as Miss Peregrine gives him a hug before all the others join to congratulate him, too. Some of the children, as well as Miss Peregrine have placed their gifts on the table, but Enoch won't open them until the afternoon, because there isn't enough time before school. Together they eat some breakfast and a big slice of the birthday cake before they all have to leave the house.

In the afternoon everyone can't wait for Enoch to return, so they can give him their presents. As the older ones finally come home, they immediately join the others at the table.

All the little ones give their little artworks to him. Most of them have drawn pictures, but Fiona has sewed a new pencil case for him, Hugh had made a beeswax candle in the shape of one of Enoch's dolls and Horace and Millard have made a handworked shelve for his jars.

Afterwards, Enoch opens the present from Olive - a picture frame with a photo of both of them - and then Miss Peregrine's little package. As soon as he sees what it is, he shouts out in joy, stands up and hugs his ymbryne. "How did you know?," he asks her confused. "I've never said anything and it's even the newest one. Normally, you're completely helpless when it comes to technology," he teases her. "Oh well, I can read your mind, haven't you noticed?" she jokes, winking at him. Finally, Enoch opens the present from Emma and Jake, who have gotten him some additional equipment for the phone.

Joyful, Enoch spends the afternoon, understanding all the features of his phone. Together with, Emma, Olive and Jake he's sitting on the couch, reading the manual. From time to time Jake can give him some tips, from his experience with his phone. Millard, Hugh and Horace are observing them, being very interested in a phone theirselves. While Alma is already in the kitchen again, cooking Enoch's special requested meal, the other children are playing in the garden. At 3 o'clock, Alma calls them all to eat some cake. While they are eating, talking and laughing, Enoch takes some pictures with his new phone. He has already taken one of Olive, that's now the background of his phone screen.

Being deep in conversation, they nearly miss hearing the door bell. Luckily, Alma's accurate ear can make out the sound over the talking of her children. Kindly, she interrupts Enoch's conversation with Horace and tells him to open the door, as she's sure that the visitor will be for him. Confused, Enoch walks towards the door. He doesn't know anyone who could visit him. But opening the door he sees that it's Ethan, friendly smiling at him with some sweets and an envelope in his hand. He congratulates him and hands over the presents.

To be honest, Enoch is quite surprised, first to see Ethan here at all and then about the choice of sweets. It's really something he likes and there's not much he likes besides chocolate. Going back into the living room together, Enoch opens the envelope. At seeing it's content, he stops in his tracks and looks at Ethan unbelievingly. "That's a joke right?" he asks. All the others, including Miss Peregrine observe him expectantly. Even Alma has no idea what Ethan got him, as much as she wanted him to tell her, he's never said a word. Answering Enoch's question, Ethan shakes his head. "But that's way too much!," Enoch insists. "What is it?" Olive and Emma want to know.

"I think it depends on you, how expensive it will get," Ethan laughs, making the others even more curious.

Realising that this wasn't a joke, Enoch's jaw drops. No more being able to take it, Olive gets up and walks over to Enoch and takes the piece of paper out of his hand. At reading it, she gets as paralyzed as Enoch, but recovers much quicker, jumping back to the table, holding up the letter shouting out of joy. "This is amazing! Look!," she says holding it out for Emma. Before she can take it though, Miss Peregrine grabs for the letter to read it first. Shocked she lets her hand drop after reading it and Emma takes it back. Finally, Alma finds her voice again. "Enoch's right, Ethan, this is way too much!" she argues. "Let's see how quick he learns before we argue," Ethan tries to calm her down.

"Can you all tell us what this is about, please," Millard cuts in. "It's a voucher for driving lessons," Jake finally says out loud which makes all the little ones gasp in surprise. Eventually, Enoch seems to have regained his composure. "Thank you," he just says, having no idea how to express his gratitude properly. "You're welcome," Ethan answers, still smiling. "I thought, it was the most useful present for a boy your age, especially in a family, where only one is able to drive so far," he explains. "But..." Alma wants to say again but Ethan stops her, pressing his fingers to her lips. "Just let him be happy with it," he whispers in her ear, so she gives in. Still perplexed, Enoch finally sits back down again, placing the envelope on the table. Now he feels really bad for treating Ethan the way he did. The others are still talking excitedly around him.

Alma makes Ethan sit down and gets another plate with some cake for him. "Coffee?" she asks him out of the kitchen. "Yes, please," Ethan answers sitting down next to Enoch. "And what other presents did you get today?" he asks curious, looking at the other things on the table. Enoch shows everything to him, especially his phone.

While they are all sitting at the table talking, and eating more cake, Alma goes back into the kitchen to continue cooking.

As most of the children stand up to go playing and the teenagers keep playing with Enoch's new phone, Ethan joins Alma in the kitchen. Not really pleased with her doing all the work again, he gives her a hand after checking her wound once more. Relieved he notices that it looks a lot better but he still warns her not to use her hand too much.

After a great afternoon, they all meet in the living room for dinner again. Of course, Ethan is invited to stay as well. During the meal, Enoch keeps talking to him. Pleased, Alma sees that they seem to get on so much better than before. After they have finished eating, Emma and Olive offer to put the dishes into the dishwasher. Alma stays seated at the table, looking at Ethan, Enoch and Jake, still deep in conversation. The younger children have gone to the couch and are watching something on TV. As Alma sees some of them yawning she sends them to get ready for bed.

Soon Emma and Olive return to sit down at the table and join the conversation. After the movie is over and Alma has tucked in the little ones, Millard, Horace, Fiona and Hugh join them as well.

Seeing that they're enjoying their time, Ethan takes Alma and a bottle of red wine. "Let's leave them to themselves and go into your room," he suggests and together they leave the living room.

"But please don't stay up too long, even if it's Friday and don't wake up the others," Alma warns before she disappears behind the corner of the corridor.

"Finally!" Enoch exclaims as the adults have closed the door behind them. Confused, the others look at him. "Did you really think that I wanted to spend my 18th birthday eating cake and dinner before going to bed?" Enoch smirks.

"What have you planned?" Emma asks, already suspecting something bad.

Quietly, Enoch walks over to the small cabinet in the living room and opens the door, revealing Miss Peregrine's liquor storage. Most of the children gasp in shock. "Enoch!" Olive exclaims. "You wouldn't!" But Enoch keeps smirking takes out one bottle of wine, bringing it back to the table. Some of the children, especially Hugh and Millard begin to smirk as well, looking forward to doing something forbidden. The girls look scared but excited at the same time. Only Horace looks affronted.

"Without me," he exclaims. "You didn't seriously expect me to participate in this?"

"No," Enoch simply answers," I didn't but I wanted to give you the chance to stay, but if you don't want to, you can leave!" And with that, Horace was gone.

"Anyone else, who wants to leave? Now's the chance" Enoch asks daring but no one moves.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Olive points out. "She's right, Enoch," Emma agrees, " you may do what you want, but the others are definitely too young!" Hugh, Millard and Fiona start to complain. If something funny was happening here, they wanted to be a part of it.

"Oh Emma, let them try it. We're still here to look after them. It's a lot better than if they do it somewhere else. Who knows what can happen then, but here with us it's not so dangerous. Besides, it's my birthday today and I want to celebrate it properly!" Enoch argues.

"But it's illegal, Enoch," Jake intervenes," and not just for them, but for all of us!"

"Boo-hoo, Jake is scared," Enoch mocks. "Have you never tried some alcohol before?"

Jake hums and haws but doesn't answers. "See?!" Enoch says," and besides, it wasn't illegal where we came from and technical speaking, you're the only one that's too young." "He's right," Millard cuts in. "We're not really underage and therefore, it's not illegal."

"Please, Enoch," Olive still tries to convince him. "I would like to do it as well but it's too risky, the bird will find out." "Nonsense! If all of us keep our mouth shut, she won't know anything," he insists. "So who's in and who's out?" No one dares to say something, besides, they're all too curious to just leave.

"So that's a done deal then," Enoch concludes. "I suggest that we do it in your room," he says to the girls," it's the one that's the furthest away from Miss P."

The other children nod and together they tip toe into the girls room, Enoch with the bottle of wine in his hand.

They sit down together on the floor in the middle of the room, forming a circle.

"Oh, we forgot the corkscrew," Enoch notices and stands up to get one while the others get some cushions to sit on more comfortably. As Enoch returns, he opens the bottle and takes a sip before passing the bottle on. Taking a sip as well, Fiona grimaces. "Not too much," Emma reminds them. Fiona doesn't really like the taste of it and also Hugh screws up his nose. "And I've deliberately chosen a sweet one," Enoch laughs, taking the bottle back from Millard.

It doesn't take long for the seven of them to finish the bottle, so Enoch gets up to get another one.

"Are you sure, that's wise?" Emma remarks. "I think it's already enough and if we take more bottles, Miss P. will surely notice it."

"Nah! Don't be so scared, Emma," Enoch says. "She's got so many of them and I'll take one of the back of the cabinet." As quickly as he's gone, he's already back with another bottle. Quickly uncorked, he takes some big gulps and wipes his mouth afterwards, handing the bottle to Jake.

They pass around the bottle a few times more, Emma deliberately skipping the younger ones, who already had enough for her liking. She watches them closely, but can't see any signs that they are already drunk. _Hopefully, this will turn out alright..._

Emma herself can feel the alcohol in her body, and she thinks she can see it in Jake's eyes as well. It's not an unpleasant feeling, but she's still scared and feels bad for betraying her ymbryne. During the next rounds, Emma takes smaller sips. She wants to stay sane, to keep the others from doing something wrong.

After drinking some more, Hugh starts having the hiccups and from time to time a bee escapes his mouth.

"Hugh!" Emma exclaims, amused but angry as well. "Why aren't the bees outside where they belong?"

Hugh just shrugs. "Don't know, I guess I must have forgotten some this afternoon."

"That's not good at all," Olive says giggling. "What if Ethan had seen them during dinner," she imagines, not able to stop herself from having a laughing fit. Quickly, Enoch and Jake join her, as well as Hugh, Millard and Fiona. Just Emma tries to stay serious but fails as she sees a few of the bees wobbling and swaying through the air.

"Hugh, are you drunk already?" Fiona manages to ask in between giggles. "No," Hugh answers, still hiccupping. "I think your bees have a lower tolerance for alcohol than we have, though," Enoch assumes.

"However," Emma says, finally having regained her composure. "I think you had enough," she says to Hugh, who starts complaining immediately. "Oh, Emma let him," Enoch joins the argument," he's still ok, it's just the bees, who are drunk..." Enoch isn't even able to finish his sentence as he sees some more drunk bees flying against some objects in the room. At this Emma forgets about Hugh and laughs as well.

After a couple of minutes, Millard gets up, swaying a bit. "It's way too hot in here," he says and starts undressing. "Yuck, Millard!" Olive giggles, "We don't want you to be naked." But it doesn't change anything and soon Millard can't be seen anymore.

With time, it gets more quiet as Fiona and Hugh are getting more tired by the minute and soon they fall asleep next to each other.

Relieved, that there's now less to worry about, Emma relaxes and takes some more wine. Something that wasn't a good idea, as she notices only a few seconds later. Or rather Jake. "Emma, what are you doing?" he asks, watching her with amusement. Only then does she notice that she's starting to float towards the ceiling.

"Oops," she giggles and tries to get down again, but without success. "I can't control it and my shoes don't seem to be enough anymore," she starts to laugh, so Jake gets to his feet and tries to pull her back down, which isn't so simple when you're a bit tipsy as well. Finally, he manages to bring Emma back to the ground and lies down on her to keep her from floating away again. It seems that the alcohol in her blood messes with her peculiarity. Interested, Jake looks around and sees, that Emma isn't the only one who's changing. Olive, who is lying in Enoch's arms is starting to give off clouds of smoke and despite her gloves, her fingertips are producing little flames. Weren't Jake under the influence of alcohol, he would get alarmed. But now, he just gets amused by it and turns back to Emma. Being drunk and lying above her, makes him feel something he hasn't felt before so he starts kissing her wildly.

Enoch who has just taken another sip of the second bottle of wine stands up, putting it aside. He's slowly getting bored. "Hey you two, stop that," he says to Jake and Emma, nudging them with his foot. "Let's do something funny," he suggests. "Have you ever danced with a skeleton?" he asks amused.

Confused the other three teenagers look at him. Before they notice what he's doing, he's already left the room and returned with his skeleton and a jar out of his room.


	10. Chapter 6 Part II

**Chapter 6**

 **Part II**

"Are you insane?" Emma exclaims. "What if Miss Peregrine saw you?"

"Calm down," Enoch answers annoyed. "She didn't and besides, I bet she's busy herself," he jokes winking at them. "Ugh, Enoch!" Olive says. "I don't think so, she wouldn't."

"That's what you think," Enoch laughs. "Have you heard something?" Jake asks curious, sitting up. "No, but that doesn't mean anything, does it," Enoch laughs. "No, Enoch," Emma cuts in, carefully getting up in a sitting position, holding on to Jake so she wouldn't float again. "Miss P. wouldn't do anything like that, she hasn't even kissed him before. I bet Ethan has already left," Emma insists. "How do you know?" Jake asks amazed. "I just do," Emma says but quickly changes the subject.

"So what is your plan with this thing?" she asks pointing at the skeleton. "I want to dance," Enoch explains smirking and places it on the ground before opening his jar. Gently he takes out a heart and places it into the ribcage of the skeleton. Shortly afterwards, it begins to move and asks Enoch for a dance, which he gladly accepts. Laughing, Enoch whirls around with it, sometimes hitting something in the way or stumbling over the sleeping children, while the others applauding during another laughing fit.

As Enoch gets dizzy and tired from dancing, he makes the skeleton stop and go into a corner of the room. Exhausted he sits down next to Olive who has stopped smoking. It seems that the effect of the alcohol is slowly wearing of for all of them. Mind you, they haven't drunk that much. Two bottles for seven people is just one glass for all of them and they haven't even finished the second one completely. And soon also Emma can sit without floating up again.

Slowly getting tired, Enoch gets up and carries Fiona into her bed and starts tidying up a bit. He wants to go to bed soon, and until then everything needs to look unsuspicious to Miss Peregrine, should she come into this room.

"Jake, can you help me bringing Hugh into his room," he asks and Jake nods, getting up. As quietly as possible they carry Hugh back to his room, where Horace is already sleeping, without any nightmares as it seems.

As the boys return, Emma and Olive are already on their feet, walking around frantically. "Hey what's up?" Enoch asks confused. Alarmed, Emma turns around. "Millard is gone? When was the last time you saw him?" she asks concerned. "Never!" Enoch jokes, looking back at Jake who laughs as well. "Not funny!" Olive exclaims. "Yes, this is serious. What if something has happened to him?" Emma asks. "Calm down, Emma, he must be here somewhere," Jake tries to reassure her. "He's probably just asleep in a corner somewhere," Enoch suggests.

"Even if you were right, we couldn't let him lie there. What if Miss Peregrine finds him?" Emma points out. "Emma is right," Olive agrees," we need to find him." Both girls go down on their knees and start crawling around the room feeling with their hands for Millard. Soon the boys join them as well. If it wasn't so serious, it could have been a funny sight, all of them crawling in circles.

Turning around to talk to Enoch, Olive hits the second wine bottle with her foot. "Oh shit," Enoch curses. A wine stain on the carpet would be impossible to hide from Miss P. But nothing happens.

"Has someone finished the wine?" Enoch asks confused. The last time he had used the bottle, there was still some wine left. All of the others shake their heads. "Shit," Enoch says again and they all start searching even more frantically.

"He's not here," Emma finally says what no one dared to say. The girls begin to panic. "Oh no, I knew it," Olive cries, "the bird will kill us". "Sh..." Enoch tries to comfort Olive. " We can still find him. I will go and look in his room, Jake in the kitchen and the bathroom and you in the living room," Enoch suggests and they all leave the room.

After looking everywhere they meet in the girls room again. Luckily, Fiona is fast asleep and doesn't wake up. "What are we going to do now?" Emma asks desperately. Both her and Olive have started crying long ago and doesn't seem to be able to stop. The boys try to comfort them as best as they can but don't know what to do either. "He doesn't seem to be in the house, what if he has gone outside, he could have been hit by a car," Olive fears. "No, no, don't think that," Enoch says, stroking her back. "If he really has finished all the wine, he won't be in the state to go far." "Besides, there aren't a lot of cars driving her during the night, I bet he's alright, we just have to find him," Jake ads.

"But where shall we look? We can't search the whole garden?" Olive asks. "We can't!" Emma states. "It's over. There's no way around going to Miss Peregrine any more. This has already gotten out of control, we can't risk losing more time and Miss P. will know what to do," Emma explains. Silently, the others hang their heads before they finally nod. "But who's going to talk to her?" Jake asks unsure. He's really getting scared now. Since his time with the peculiars, no one has done something bad like this and Jake doesn't know how Miss Peregrine will react.

"It was Enoch's idea, so I think he should go," Emma decides.

"You're right, it was my idea, but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea that I go into her room at night. I think it should be a girl and besides, we all did it together even if it was my idea" Enoch explains. "He's probably right, Em," Olive agrees. "We want Miss P. to be in the best mood when we tell her and if she's already angry at Enoch before he hasn't even said anything, it's not to our advantage."

Emma has to admit that Olive's right. "So it's my job again?" Emma asks rolling her eyes. "Seems like it," Olive says winking at her," but think about it, Miss Peregrine always reacts best when you talk to her."

It was right, Emma has the best connection to Miss Peregrine and everyone knows it. Giving in, Emma nods and slowly walks out of her room. During their little discussion, she has nearly forgotten about the serious situation they were in.

Carefully, Emma knocks at Miss Peregrine's door and waits for an answer. Her ymbryne was fast asleep but she wouldn't be Miss Peregrine if she wasn't upright the second she hears a noise. Hearing her answer, Emma gently opens the door and enters. Miss Peregrine has already switched on the lamp on her nightstand and is sitting on her bed. At seeing Emma's tear-stained face she gets concerned but doesn't get to say anything because Emma starts talking as soon as she has closed the door.

"Miss P.," she sobs," we're so sorry, we didn't mean for any of this to happen, I promise!" Confused, Miss Peregrine stands up and takes Emma in her arms. "What are you talking about?" she asks, now getting serious, and takes Emma's face in her hands to look her in the eyes.

"It's Millard," Emma continues, still crying. It's then that Miss Peregrine sees the slightly dazed expression in Emma's eyes and notices the smell of wine. Instantly her eyes change from a loving expression to a sharp glare.

"Have you been drinking?" she asks furious. "And what is with Millard? Keep talking!" she commands, shaking Emma by grabbing her shoulders. Immediately, Alma regrets using violence, but doesn't say anything. Something bad must have happened to one of her children and then she couldn't think clearly and can't waste time on anything else.

Still crying, Emma tries to explain everything. That Enoch wanted to have some alcohol for his birthday, that they drank two bottles and that Millard was nowhere to be found inside the house.

Nearly panicking, Miss Peregrine abandons Emma and storms out of her room. In the corridor, she meets the other three, standing in the corner, their heads lowered. She doesn't have time to reprimand them and she couldn't even trust herself to stay rational now. So she walks past them, outside the terrace door, into the garden.

Desperately, she calls for Millard but gets no answer. In her despair, she runs around, searching all the presumable places. After looking everywhere, she falls down to her knees, barely able to hold back her tears. She has failed them again. Why does this keep happening? She was distracted and had let her children out of her sight. And now her little boy is gone, helplessly lying somewhere, without any clothes in this cold night.

But she needs to keep a clear head. She has to find him, no matter how. Slowly, she gets up to her feet again and looks around. He wasn't at all the places he usually goes to, not even on the bench down the hill, where she has found him the last time.

Looking around, Alma tries to concentrate on her feelings. Somehow, she has always been able to feel Millard, even if she couldn't see him. Suddenly, she gets an idea and goes back to the terrace door. Carefully she bends down and feels for Millard next to the door. And finally she touches something.

 _Oh, thank god, it's him!_

Millard must have gone outside, because he was feeling too hot and because he has already had troubles walking he sat down next to the door, who closed on its own.

Gently, Alma lifts him, to carry him back inside. He is already shivering and moans in discomfort as she moves him. Quickly bringing him into his room, she lays him on her bed and covers him with her warm blanket. Then she gets a bowl with water and a washcloth. Traversing the corridor, she sees her other teenagers, where she left them. Emma has obviously joined them and now they're all still looking at the ground.

Lost for words, Miss Peregrine gives them one of her death glares. "To your beds, now!" she says in her strict voice. "This will have consequences," she shouts before going back to her room. Quickly, the others disappear into their own rooms and go to bed immediately. They are relieved that Millard is back with them but are also afraid of tomorrow. They don't have much time to think about it, though, as their eyes quickly close and they're all asleep very soon, exhausted by the events of this evening.

The only one, who doesn't get any sleep this night, is Miss Peregrine. Millard starts moaning and tossing and turning shortly afterwards. As best as possible, Alma tries to comfort him, but since he hasn't spoken yet, she doesn't know what's wrong with him. She can roughly guess though how he must be feeling, if the things Emma told her are true.

With the washcloth she tries to ease his discomfort but soon, Millard starts throwing up as well. Miss Peregrine has anticipated it somehow, so as it happens she's prepared and turns Millard around, so he leans over a bucket. It goes on like this for half of the night until Millard finally falls asleep.

But Miss Peregrine can't find any rest. She jumps at any noise coming from Millard and even when he's sleeping peacefully, there are too many thoughts in her head for her to relax.

Luckily, the next morning is a Saturday, so they can sleep late. But at 9 o'clock, Miss Peregrine leaves her bed and gets ready for the day. Quickly, she puts on another dress and walks to the mirror to put some makeup on. There's no need to conceal the dark circles under her eyes though. Her children may see how they caused her to stay awake the whole night and worry. Quietly, she leaves her room, Millard still sleeping.

In the kitchen she starts preparing some breakfast, because she knows that the little ones will get up soon. As the first one's join her in the living room and start eating, she decides to wake up the older ones as well. It's exactly what they deserve after last night.

Not gentle at all, she gets them out of their beds and commands that they should come to eat breakfast immediately. Nearly all of them start groaning, none of them feel like eating. But Miss Peregrine insists and no one dares to say something, still fearing her anger.

At the table, Miss Peregrine takes a good look at all her children. Of course the four oldest look terrible, but she's sure that she can see signs of a hangover in Fiona's and Hugh's faces as well. None of them eat a lot during breakfast and Emma and Olive have to run to the bathroom twice. Jake and Enoch can pull themselves together but looking at them, you can see that they're close to throwing up as well.

Only the little ones are well and laughing as always, not knowing what has happened during the night. But Horace, who knows very well what went on, has to concentrate hard not to start laughing but can't stifle a tiny smirk. At seeing that Millard is not with them, he gets worried, though.

"Where is Millard, Miss P.?" he asks carefully. Miss Peregrine, who has just glared at the others, turns around and puts on a happy face. "Mr. Nullings has been feeling unwell last night and is therefore still sleeping in my room," she explains as if it was the most normal thing and keeps eating.

After the breakfast, Miss Peregrine sends the children outside to help with the work in the garden. The children who haven't done anything wrong, are allowed to play while the others have to mow the lawn and water all the plants. Of course, Miss Peregrine isn't done with them yet, she won't let them forget what they've done for a very long time.

In the meantime, she checks on Millard who is still sleeping in her bed. She can see that he has thrown up again, which worries her. He still doesn't seem to be over the worst. Again she wipes his face with the wet cloth, which makes him stir. Miss Peregrine tries to bite back her anger and comforts him. As he calms down again, she puts the cloth back in the bowl and stands up.

Alma leaves her room and walks to the telephone to call Ethan. She's still too worried about Millard, having no experience with alcoholized children. Hearing about her problems, Ethan promises to come as soon as he has finished repairing something on his boat. Quickly, Alma goes back to Millard to put on his overall. When Ethan comes, he shouldn't be naked anymore.

Afterwards, Alma joins her children in the garden, playing soccer with her little ones. She's not the most athletic woman but she can still keep up with her girls and the young boys, even though it's now getting really hard, as the twins have gotten so much better. From time to time, she would glance at her older children, who are still working. Even if she's still furious with them, it amuses her to see them struggling to maintain their composure and keep on working. When she sees them resting for a short time or throwing up again, she can't help taking pity on them,though.

But nonetheless, they have betrayed her and done something that she cannot forgive them for some time, so they have to learn it the hard way.

As Alma wants to go inside to prepare something for lunch, Ethan is already pulling into the driveway. Before one of the children can see them she opens the front door and lets him in. Smirking he greets her and enters the living room. "So, where's the bad boy, or at least one of them?" he asks.

"It's not funny," Miss Peregrine states and points towards her door.

"I'm not saying that in front of them, but have you never been young?" Ethan asks Alma laughing. Instantly, Alma shakes her head offended. "I can promise you, that I've never done anything like this," she says walking towards her room. "How am I not surprised," Ethan jokes following her with his bag.

In Miss Peregrine's bed, Millard is still sleeping. Gently, Alma approaches him and carefully shakes his shoulder. Immediately he begins to stir and then lifts his head, just to turn around to throw up into the bucket, still standing next to the bed.

"Oh, oh, poor guy," Ethan says and sits down on the edge of the bed. Alma is a little bit nervous, Ethan has never been this close to Millard. Hopefully everything will go well and he won't notice anything odd.

"Has he been drinking enough water today?" Ethan asks.

"Oh, no" Alma admits," he hasn't really been awake until now." "That's not good, he needs to keep up his fluids, especially when he's still throwing up," Ethan explains. "Oh yes, of course," Alma exclaims," how could I have forgotten something important like that?"

"It's ok, Alma," Ethan reassures her. "He can still do it now." Immediately, Miss Peregrine takes one of the glasses she has in her rooms and fills it with water from the sink in the corner of her room. She then hands it to Ethan who tries to make Millard drink. As Millard has taken a few sips, he places the glass on the nightstand and opens his bag.

"I'm pretty sure that he's fine and just needs some more rest and fluids, but to be save I'm going to examine him," Ethan explains, while getting his stethoscope and his blood pressure cuff out of his bag. First, Ethan checks Millard's pulse and blood pressure, which are ok. Afterwards, Ethan wants to unbutton Millard's overall, so he can auscultate his heart tones and his lung.

Immediately, Alma intervenes. "Is it possible to do it on top of his clothes, or at least slide it in between the buttons? He doesn't like to show his skin, you know," Alma tries to explain.

"Oh, ok, I forgot," Ethan says and stops. "But is he like this with his dermatologist as well," he laughs. "I'm just another doctor and have seen it all before," he explains. "I know," Alma tries to appease him. "And of course he's not like that when it has to be, but let's keep it as rarely as possible, ok?" she suggests, smiling her beautiful smile. "Of course," Ethan says and does it as Alma has suggested.

Eventually, he palpates Millard's stomach and then covers him again, gives him some more water to drink and then packs up his bag. "He's fine" he assures Alma as he stands up. "Just give him another day and he'll be back to normal." Thank you," Alma says and closes the door behind them as they leave the room.

"How are the others?" Ethan asks curious as they both sit down on the couch. "They're doing alright, I guess. They had to throw up as well but not as much as Millard and I believe it has already stopped. At the moment they're working in the garden," Alma explains, pointing out of the window.

"Oh, you're strict, indeed," Ethan laughs. "They had it coming," Alma argues. "Oh Alma, cut them some slack," Ethan says. "they are teenagers and every teenagers have their first bender. Some earlier and some later," Ethan explains. "And some never," he quickly ads as he sees Alma's glare. "But what I meant is that it's part of the process of growing up and they will learn their lesson, I'm sure of it," he tries to save himself.

"Nonetheless, they deserve a real punishment," Alma insists and afraid of another argument Ethan agrees. Together they talk about it until Alma calls in all the children to come inside to eat and drink something.

Finally feeling sorry for her older children, she tells them to sit down on the couches with some tea, while the others eat at the table. Afterwards, she sends the little ones to play in their rooms, because Alma wants to talk to the other six alone.

Together with Ethan they sit down and Alma tells them how disappointed she is in them. They have really betrayed her trust in them and have to earn it again before she will put her trust in them again.

"I've really thought, you were more mature," Alma tells especially Emma, Olive and Enoch. "This could have ended a lot worse!"

All of them keep their heads down. They know that they have messed things up and will accept all the consequences. Jake doesn't say a word, he has got too much respect for Miss Peregrine. He had endured speeches like that from his parents, especially during the last year, they had sat down together more often, but it has never been like this. In a different way, Miss Peregrine is so much more strict and intimidating. Besides, Jake feels that he still has to prove himself to her, being the newest of her children.

After 15 minutes of lecturing, Miss Peregrine finally comes to an end.

"So, I hope that you know that this was really bad and that you have learned your lesson. I don't want you touching my things again and not any other alcohol for the next years, have I made myself clear?" All of them nod, still not looking her in the eyes.

"We decided that as a punishment, you will help Ethan with all the work he has on his boat, in his garden and in his house for the next 2 months. And of course I don't have to say, that there won't be any parties, sleepovers or any other playdates. You will go to school and to Ethan but nowhere else, do you understand?" Again, all of them nod, but this time not without swallowing hard. It's really hard for Fiona to not see her friends and for Hugh to miss his training.

"Ok, then I have nothing more to say to you," Alma finishes," you may go to your rooms and sleep now, if you want. Tomorrow you will start working at Ethan's". With that all the children get up and slowly walk to their rooms, while apologizing once more on the way.

"Wow," Ethan says as they have left. "They really respect you, I wouldn't have accepted everything without any objections."

"How am I not surprised?" Alma repeats Ethan's previous comment. "They know exactly when to stop arguing," Alma explains still frowning a bit.

"Hey, you should stop being so angry," Ethan says and takes her hand. "You have shown them who's the boss, now you can relax again."

"And smile," he adds and starts tickling Alma, which finally changes her facial expression. Giggling, she tries to stop him and soon they lie on the couch together, both fighting to be on top of the other.

Exhausted they stop and call a truce. "You're already in a better mood," Ethan notices smiling. "But I've got to tell you something and I'm not sure if it lightens your mood further or will bring you back to your previous mood," he laughs. Expectantly, Alma raises her eyebrows, waiting for Ethan to start talking. "I guess you have enough of birthdays for now, but I'm turning 40 this year and I wanted to invite you all to my huge birthday party in a few weeks," Ethan breaks the news.

Suddenly, Alma begins to laugh uncontrollably, a reaction, that Ethan hasn't expected at all. After a couple of seconds, Alma can control herself again. "Will there be alcohol?" she asks still out of breath. "I'm not sure if my other friends would appreciate me banishing the alcohol completely but I promise to keep it far away from all your children," he offers, now laughing as well.

"Ok, then we'll accept your invitation," Alma assures him and gives him one of her lovely smiles.

Ethan stays for a bit longer and they keep talking about more pleasant things until he has to leave and Alma starts cooking dinner.

For the rest of the day, none of them sees the older ones again. Only Millard comes out of Miss Peregrine's room and joins them for dinner, but only eating a tiny bit.

As all the children are in bed, Alma sits down on the couch. She doesn't feel like drinking any wine today. She thinks about today's events and if she may have been too hard on her children. But then she remembers what could have happened and knows that this behaviour called for severe consequences. Her children will have to feel how wrong they behaved and Alma is sure, that her punishments will make them think about it. At the same time, though, Alma knows, that Ethan will be way too nice to them when they'll help him.

Relieved, that all of her children are well and nothing serious had happened to them, Alma goes to her room and quickly falls asleep.

The next weeks are pretty hard for all seven children. Millard heard about his punishment shortly before Ethan came to pick them up on the Sunday morning. From then on, they spend every minute of their free time at Ethan's and help him with really everything. From cleaning his house, to repairing his boat. But luckily, Ethan is really friendly, lets them take many breaks and jokes with them. Secretly he even tells them that he hasn't been much older when he drank too much for the first time, which makes them a lot more comfortable around him, had they been really embarrassed before.

It takes a few days for Alma until she finally stops being cross with them and can be as friendly as before. With the help of Ethan, she can kind of understand her children now and because they have realized that they have made a mistake, she stops being angry and slowly begins to trust them again. During their time with her they have always been good children and she thinks she can forgive them this one mistake during the last hundred years. Especially after all they have done for her in the last year.

As Ethan has no work left for them, they all sit down to talk about it again. All children apologize once more and promise Miss Peregrine, that they will never do something like that again. Alma who has had enough time to calm down, accepts their apologies and tells them that she's happy that they've learned their lesson. She says that she's ok with them stopping working for Ethan but that they're still grounded for 2 more weeks.

Knowing that it's only two more weeks and noticing that it's much less, than Miss Peregrine first announced, all of them hug their ymbryne who gladly hugs them back. Deciding that no one of them is angry anymore, they spend a lovely evening together. And for the first time in 3 weeks it's all normal between them again.


	11. Chapter 7 Part I

**Chapter 7**

 **This whole chapter (with all its separated parts) may contain content that's rated M, especially part IV.**

 **Part I**

"Not inside the house!" Miss Peregrine shouts through the living room.

It's a stressful forenoon in the house of Miss Peregrine and the peculiars. After all the children went to school, Miss Peregrine started to clean the whole house and was just beginning to clean all the windows, as she got a call from the school.

Some teachers got sick, so she had to pick up Claire and the twins immediately. Returning with them half an hour later, Miss Peregrine tries to carry on with her tasks as planned. She sends Claire and the twins in their room to play something, while she finishes the windows.

Today is one of the few rainy days here, so she thought it would be perfect for housework and especially for cleaning all the windows, which was long overdue. Picking up the children, had messed up her plan, so Miss Peregrine is even more stressed now, which isn't eased by her little ones running around the house with in-line skates instead of playing quietly in their room.

Miss Peregrine hasn't even finished with the windows as Fiona, Bronwyn and Hugh come home as well and want to eat something. Therefore she interrupts her work a second time and prepares some sandwiches. While her children eat, she finally cleans the last two windows.

Outside, it has already started to rain heavily again and the sky has turned pretty dark.

"Miss Peregrine!" she hears one of the girls calling her. After storing away her cleaning supplies, Alma joins her children in the living room to ask what's wrong.

"The light doesn't work," Fiona explains and tries to switch on the light in the living room to demonstrate the problem.

"Is it just this one, or all the lights?" Miss Peregrine asks thoughtful. "Just this one," Bronwyn answers.

"Alright, I'll take a look at the light bulb later, you don't need the light now, do you?" she asks her children, who shake their heads.

After hurrying around and having no free minute today, Alma is quite exhausted and wants to sit down to eat something as well before attacking the next problem. But it shall not happen, because as soon as she wants to sit down, Claire and the twins come running into the room. Claire arrives first, one of her favourite toys in her hands.

" Miss Peregrine!" she exclaims. "One of the twins played with the car for my dolls and now it's broken again," she whines. Still standing, Miss Peregrine takes the little pink car in her hands and takes a closer look. It doesn't seem to be damaged, just one of the door got stuck and won't open anymore.

It has happened before, so Miss Peregrine knows exactly what to do, but in the dim room she can't see enough to repair it. Annoyed she walks over into the kitchen, switches on the light and does it there.

Handing it back to Claire who says thank you and runs away happy again, she wants to make a second attempt to eat something. Only this time it's Bronwyn who calls her out of her room.

Taking a deep breath, Miss Peregrine walks over into the room of the little ones.

"Careful!" Bronwyn warns, as soon as she opens the door. "And quickly close the door!"

Doing as she was told, Miss Peregrine looks around. Their whole room is one big mess, everywhere are lying toys, their schoolbags have been dumped in a corner next to the door and even their beds are dishevelled.

"What's wrong, Bronwyn?" Miss Peregrine tries to ask in a friendly tone, but really being close to freaking out.

"Ginger has run away," Bronwyn explains. "We wanted to take her out to play but then she ran away and is now hiding under Claire's bed. Can you please help us getting her back, Miss P.?" Bronwyn begs.

"Of course!" Miss Peregrine sighs and kneels down to grab the guinea pig from under the bed. But as soon as she approaches it, it runs away again. This time it runs around in the open, though, and Alma can quickly grab it.

"I think you should leave it in its cage for now, I'm sure it needs some rest after this adventure," Miss Peregrine advises and hands it back to Bronwyn, who does as her ymbryne has said.

Returning to the living room, Alma has to notice, that it has gotten even darker. Annoyed that she can't see anything without the light, she decides to repair it now.

She gets the ladder and some tools out of the garage and wants to start unscrewing the lamp, as Claire and the twins return, shouting. Again they're on their in-line skates, racing towards the entrance of the house.

"How many time have I told you, Claire! Not inside the house!" Alma shouts but can't be heard over the noises of her children, who doesn't seem to notice her on the ladder .

"Claire!" Miss Peregrine shouts to make them stop, but it's too late and the first one of them hits the ladder. The other two children collide as well, starting to scream while the ladder above them begins to sway.

Miss Peregrine still shouts to make them get up and run out of harm's way but everything happens too fast. The last thing she does, is holding on to the lamp and steering the ladder away from her little ones. It works but it doesn't help her as the ladder with her on top of it crashes to the floor in between the dining table and one of the couches.

A loud crash makes all of the other children come out of their room to see the shocking scene in the living room.

The three little children are still lying on the ground, crying because of the shock, looking at their ymbryne who lies one metre away from them, half buried under the ladder, writhing with pain.

Quickly, Fiona and Hugh run towards her and manage to free her from the ladder. Careful, they help her sitting up. Miss Peregrine assures them that she's fine, but they don't believe a word she says, as they see the pain in her face. Groaning in pain and with a lot of help from both her children, Miss Peregrine manages to lie down on the nearest couch.

Meanwhile, Bronwyn has approached and calmed down the three younger ones. They stopped crying and together with Bronwyn they put off their in-line skates and watch Fiona, Hugh and Miss Peregrine with fear.

Holding back the tears, Miss Peregrine assures them that she will be fine. Apparently, she has just landed quite painfully on her left foot, which seems to be sprained and bruised. She tells Fiona that she just needs to rest a bit before it will get better.

Gently, Alma calls Claire and the twins over to talk to them. She knows that they must feel quite scared and even guilty. As she sees their teary eyes, she pats their heads and tells them that she's not angry with them.

A little bit relieved, they go back into their room with Bronwyn. Miss Peregrine has told them that she just wants to lie down a bit and that they can all leave.

Hesitating, Hugh follows the little ones. He's not sure if it's right to leave Miss Peregrine, but Fiona is still there and he thinks that someone should be with his younger siblings.

Miss Peregrine has already closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to become less intense, and therefore doesn't see that Fiona is still there. She observes her ymbryne closely and sees that she must be in more pain than she admits. Fiona can't see her foot but she's sure that it's getting really swollen. Knowing that Miss Peregrine always does it when one of them gets hurt, she walks into the kitchen to get a cooling pack.

As gently as she can, she takes off Miss Peregrine's shoe, before it gets even more difficult. As soon as she touches her, Miss Peregrine cries out in pain and opens her eyes. "I'm sorry Miss P. but it has to be done," Fiona explains and places the cooling pack on her ymbryne's swollen ankle. It takes some time until Miss Peregrine stops whimpering and calms down again, but Fiona is as worried as before and seeing Miss Peregrine's foot hasn't eased her worries. It seems to be a lot worse than she first thought and than Miss Peregrine wants them all to believe but as she's now the oldest one around, it's her responsibility to do the right thing. Therefore she decides to call Jake or Enoch and let them know what has happened.

Quietly Fiona walks over to the phone and disappears into her room dialling Jake's number. Luckily he answers immediately and gives his phone to Emma. Nervously, Fiona explains what happened and Emma promises to come home instantly. In the meantime, Fiona shouldn't leave Miss Peregrine out of her sight.

After only 15 Minutes, Emma, Jake, Enoch and Olive come storming into the house. Olive immediately walks into the room of the little ones to distract them. Emma and Enoch hurry towards Miss Peregrine, shocked to see her in such a bad state. She looks incredibly pale, her face covered in cold sweat.

Hearing them, she opens her eyes and looks surprised to see them. She still refuses any help and insists that she's fine but at the same time she seems a bit dazed and not really herself.

Jake decides that two of them are enough here and takes Fiona with him to see if Olive needs some help. In the bedroom he sees that Claire is crying, lying in Olive's arms and also the twins and Bronwyn are scared. Jake sits down and talks to them, trying to take away their worries.

In the living room, Emma sits next to Miss Peregrine on the couch, trying to talk to her, convincing her that she should see a doctor if it's still this bad, while Enoch carefully lifts the cooling pack to inspect her injury.

Shocked Enoch looks at Emma. "She needs a doctor! Now," he exclaims, immediately answered by Miss Peregrine's rejections. Worried Emma also takes a look at Miss Peregrine's leg, which is incredibly swollen and already turning blue, before nodding at Enoch. Emma even thinks, that Miss P's ankle looks slightly dislocated, which is alarming.

Slowly, she gets up and goes over to the phone. Luckily, Miss Peregrine has already closed her eyes again, so she can't see what Emma's doing, otherwise she would have started a huge discussion again.

Taking the phone with her into the kitchen, Emma calls Ethan to ask what they should do. Accurately, she describes, what has happened and how she thinks Miss Peregrine is feeling. As she tells him about the leg, he wants to know something specific, so Emma hands the phone to Enoch.

Ethan explains to Enoch, how he can feel for the pulse in Alma's foot, but as Enoch says that he's not sure if there is none or if he has done it wrong, Ethan wants to talk to Emma again.

He tells her that this is an emergency and that she must call the ambulance immediately. Furthermore he explains what she has to say when she calls them and that he will meet them in front of the local hospital.

Alarmed, Emma tells Enoch what Ethan has said and dials the number for the ambulance, while Enoch keeps calming down their ymbryne, who hasn't heard everything but certainly knows what's going on.

Waiting for the ambulance, Emma stays with Miss P., who gets more restless by the minute, no more able to take the increasing pain, while Enoch goes to talk to Olive and Jake.

Knowing that something is very wrong, the little ones start crying again, so Olive has her hands full with comforting them. Carefully she explains, that Miss Peregrine needs to go to the hospital to get better as soon as possible, because the doctors can help her there best. The children understand everything but that doesn't ease their worry.

After only a few minutes, they already hear the ambulance coming, so Enoch opens the door, while Olive distracts the younger ones. They don't want any of them to see, what's going on in the living room, so Jake especially keeps an eye on Millard.

As the paramedics enter the house, Emma and Enoch stand aside to give them some room. The emergency doctor talks to Emma about everything she knows before joining the others at Miss Peregrine's side. It's immediately clear, that her ankle is broken and needs to be reset at once.

Miss Peregrine is writhing in pain and needs to be restrained by the paramedics. No more able to take this sight of her ymbryne, Emma shoves through all the people, holds her hand and talks to her. Slowly, Miss Peregrine calms down a bit, so the paramedic can insert an intravenous cannula to give her the pain medication and sedatives.

As Miss Peregrine has calmed enough, the emergency doctor starts the reduction. Despite the strong medication, Miss Peregrine winces and screams again. As soon as it's done, they steady her leg and move her onto a gurney for an immediate transportation to the hospital.

One of the paramedics talk to Emma before they all leave, Emma accompanying her ymbryne in the back of the ambulance. During the drive, the doctor has to renew the pain medication, because Miss Peregrine gets restless again. But arriving at the hospital, she is really calm, too calm, for Emma's liking. Alma is barely responsive anymore, her eyes closed nearly the whole time.

Exiting the ambulance, they meet Ethan, who has just arrived with his car, hurrying across the forecourt towards them. He joins Emma at Miss Peregrine's side, taking her hand and gently stroking it.

With Ethan talking to the doctor about things, Emma has never heard before, they enter the huge building. Eventually they meet another doctor and disappear behind a big door, while Ethan and Emma have to wait in the corridor.

Seeing how upset Emma is, Ethan tries to explain everything that he knows about Miss Peregrine's condition, which isn't much, because they hadn't done any tests yet. After explaining the standard procedures after a fracture like this, he goes to the vending machine and buys something to drink and eat for Emma. "For the nerves," he says and smiles, which kind of makes her feel better. If Ethan can still be so calm, then Miss Peregrine's condition won't be too bad, she hopes.


	12. Chapter 7 Part II

**Chapter 7**

 **Part II**

After half an hour, the attending physician appears in the corridor and talks to Ethan again. Soon, he motions for Emma to join them as the doctor has a couple of questions for her. Quickly, Ethan explains, that Alma's leg will need surgery because of multiple fractures that require an intraoperative repositioning and stabilization. Therefore, the doctor needs to know if Miss Peregrine has got any allergies and when was the last time she ate something.

Emma assures him, that Alma doesn't have any allergies but she's not sure when she ate something. Because it seems to be very important, Ethan gives his phone to Emma, who calls at home to ask Fiona. Thinking hard, Fiona says that Miss Peregrine hasn't found the time to eat since breakfast. After comforting and informing her that everything will be fine, Emma hangs up to tell the other two doctors what Fiona has said.

Pleased with the answer, the doctor disappears again, but not before allowing them to go into Miss Peregrine's room. "It will do her good to see you before we take her to surgery. You know the way...," the doctor says winking at Ethan and walks away.

Putting his arm around Emma's shoulder, Ethan takes her through the door and around a few corners until they enter a small room. In the middle of the room Miss Peregrine lies on another gurney, a nurse whirling around her, obviously preparing her for the surgery.

Immediately, Emma approaches her ymbryne and takes her hand, while Ethan takes a look at her leg and at the x-ray, that's still on the illuminated worktop.

As soon as Emma touches her hand, Miss Peregrine opens her eyes and looks at her. On seeing her girl so upset, Alma feels the need to comfort her. But as she wants to lift her hand to cup Emma's cheek, she notices the infusion tube in her left hand.

Confused she tries to lift her head to take in her surroundings for the first time and at seeing this unknown room she begins to get quite anxious.

"Shh..." Ethan tries to comfort her as he approaches and appears in her field of vision. Gently, he strokes Alma's cheek and brushes a few strands of hair out of her face.

"She has never been in a hospital before, I bet she's really scared," Emma explains, so Ethan bends down so Alma can see him properly.

"Everything is gonna be alright, we're both here with you" he assures her. "Soon they will take you to another room, where we can't follow though. But it's ok, they will give you something to sleep and when you wake up we will be here again, ok?" he explains slowly. Alma nods,even if she doesn't really understand what's happening around her, because the drugs stop her from thinking clearly. But she still knows that her children are at home, surely worried and needing her. " My children," she groans and tries to move again.

Immediately, Ethan is there to hold her down. "Don't worry," he says," I promise I will take care of them, just concentrate on yourself for now."

Exhausted, Alma closes her eyes again, revelling in the touch of two of her loved ones.

Soon another nurse comes and tells them to leave, as Miss Peregrine will be taken to surgery now. Holding her hand, the both of them follow until they have to stay behind and Miss Peregrine disappears behind another door.

Taking Emma in his arms, Ethan leads her back to the corridor, they waited in before. He offers to drive her home, but Emma insists on staying here until the surgery is finished, even if it takes a couple of hours. Understanding her too well, Ethan makes her at least follow him to sit down in the cafeteria.

"I'd like to call the others, though, to tell them what is happening," Emma explains and Ethan hands her his phone.

Trying hard not to cry, Emma speaks with Jake and Enoch and tells them about everything. They promise her to be there for their younger siblings and that she shouldn't worry about them but they ask her to call again as soon as there are some news.

Wiping some tears away, Emma makes her way back to Ethan who has already ordered some food. Not feeling like eating at all, Emma just picks at her food.

After Ethan has made her eat at least half of her noodles, he takes Emma for a walk outside. For the first time today it has stopped raining, so they can walk around the building to get some fresh air.

Afterwards they enter the hospital through another door, but walking through some more corridors, they arrive at the same place they have been sitting before. For Emma it is just like a huge maze, but Ethan knows all the ways as he has been working here for a couple of years before he opened his own doctor's office.

While sitting down again, Ethan decides to explain to Emma what the surgeons are doing at the moment. Since he has seen the x-ray, Ethan now knows which bones are broken and where exactly. Therefore he's sure which approach his colleagues will chose to stabilize the fracture with a plate and a couple of screws.

Listening to Ethan's explanations distracts Emma so she doesn't notice how the time flies until one of the surgeons comes through another door and approaches them. As soon as they see him, Emma and Ethan stand up.

The doctor explains mostly to Ethan what they have done and how Miss Peregrine's body reacted to everything. Emma doesn't understand a word of what they are saying, so she's happy as the other doctor leaves again and Ethan tells her that everything went according to plan and that Miss Peregrine is now lying in the postanesthesia care unit. As Emma asks when they can see her, Ethan explains, that it's normally not allowed to go in there, but his colleague has made an exception for him. But only one of them can see her.

"Then you should go," Emma says and as Ethan argues that she should go she explains: "If she sees me she just starts worrying again and you are always able to calm her down."

Accepting it, Ethan says that Emma can come with him and just has to wait outside the room, where she can see them through a window. Together they walk a while until they reach a door, which says "No entry". Knowing that they are allowed to, Ethan opens the door and they enter. Immediately a nurse approaches them and wants to tell them to leave but she's stopped by the doctor who has talked to them earlier.

Ethan brings Emma to the window where she can already see her ymbryne lying in a bed. Leaving her there, Ethan turns a corner and enters the room. He greets the nurse and the doctor inside, who are taking care of all three patients that are currently laying here.

Worried, Emma watches her ymbryne, who looks so pale and small in this big white bed. She's connected to some machines by several cables and into her left arm are now leading two infusion tubes. On the monitors of the machines, Emma sees a couple of numbers in different colours, that are only confusing to her.

For Ethan, they seem to be quite informative as he takes a close look at them before sitting down next to Alma's bed. She has already started stirring, which gradually changes into tossing and turning, as she seems to wake up.

As she gets even more restless, Ethan holds her hand and starts talking to her until she opens her eyes.

"Ethan," she whispers in a raspy voice.

"Yes, I'm here, everything is fine," he assures her.

"My children...," she tries to say but her voice fails.

"Shh..."Ethan stops her. "Don't talk. They are fine, we have just spoken to them on the phone. And see, Emma is there," Ethan says pointing at the window. Carefully, Alma turns her head and as she sees Emma smiling and waving at her she already feels better. But she can't stop worrying about her girl, though, as she looks quite tired and worried.

"What happened?" Alma asks confused, looking around the room.

"You had an accident at home," Ethan begins to explain. "Apparently you fell of a ladder and broke your ankle. Do you remember?" Ethan asks reassuringly. He knows, that disorientation is normal after the anaesthesia and even before the surgery everything went so quick and Alma was in shock that she surely hasn't had a chance to understand what had happened.

After a short while of thinking, Alma nods slowly.

"Good! It will get easier for you to remember everything. How are you feeling?" Ethan asks her. "Are you in pain?"

Slowly Alma shakes her head. "But my mouth is so dry and my throat feels strange," she complains hoarsely.

"That's normal after an intubation," Ethan explains. "The strange feeling will go away, as for your mouth, you're not allowed to drink yet but I've got an idea."

Ethan stands up and gets a glass of water and some swabs to moisten Alma's lips which are quite dry and chapped. As Ethan touches one small wound on her lip, Alma winces slightly.

"I'm sorry," Ethan apologizes immediately. "I will take care of your lips later, ok?"

Groaning, Alma nods, as her eyes close again. Her body is too exhausted and the anaesthesia is still wearing of, so she's asleep again very soon.

Gently, Ethan places her hand, that he was still holding on the bed and stands up. He says goodbye to the others in the room and leaves to join Emma.

Quickly the two of them drive back home to the others, who have now been waiting nearly 4 hours for them.

For the first time today, Emma feels kind of relieved after seeing her ymbryne awake again and hearing from Ethan that everything went fine.

Entering the house, they are already welcomed by all the children storming towards them. As many as possible try to hug Emma and she can see that they spend most of the day crying.

"Hey," Emma coos and lifts Claire up on her arm, giving her a kiss.

"How's Miss Peregrine?" all of the others start asking.

"She's alright," Emma starts reassuring them but is interrupted by Mr. Sands.

"We'll talk about the details later," he says and pushes them into the room to close the door.

"First of all: I bet you're all hungry. What do you feel like eating?," Ethan asks all of the children who start sighing. Most of them aren't interested in eating, they just want to hear about their ymbryne.

Ethan goes over to the table and sits down waiting for them to join him.

"How about we order something from a delivery service?"he tries to animate them.

Reluctantly all the children sit down around the table and think about it. "Can we order some pizza?" Claire asks now getting excited.

"Of course," Ethan answers," do the others like pizza as well?" As all of them nod their agreement, Ethan takes out his phone and orders four big family pizzas.

Then he decides to talk to them about Miss Peregrine, because he thinks they can handle the whole situation a lot better, when they understand it all. And from what Emma has told him, none of them have ever had any contact with hospitals before.

In a way that's easy for them all to understand, Ethan explains, what has happened to Miss Peregrine's bones, that they will grow again, but had to be put back and fixated in the right position first. Then he tells them, that Miss Peregrine will be really weak for some time, because a surgery is quite hard on a patient. In the end, he informs them, that she will stay in the hospital for a couple of days, because she still needs to be taken care of in a way that isn't possible at home and that she will have to wear a cast for some time afterwards.

Then he promises them that he will take them to visit her when she's feeling better and that there will be no reason for them to worry anymore.

Relieved, most of the children can now relax and leave the living room to play again until their dinner arrives. Of course, the older ones stay with Ethan and Emma to ask them about more details. They know exactly, that it won't be like before for some weeks now and they want to know exactly, what will happen next. Patiently Ethan answers all their questions and assures them, that he will be here to help them.

Together they agree, that it might be best if he moved in with them, at least till Miss Peregrine returns, but maybe even longer to help her as well.

Soon the pizza arrives and they all meet at the table again, enjoying their food.

After everyone gets ready for bed, Ethan lets them watch a movie together, he wants their day to be as normal as possible.

Afterwards Ethan reads a goodnight story to the little ones before they all go to bed. Only Emma, Jake, Enoch and Olive are still in the living room, cleaning everything up and preparing a bed for Ethan on the couch.

As they all want to go to their rooms as well, Ethan informs them that he will go to see Miss Peregrine again, as she must be really awake by now. Emma, Enoch and Olive really want to go as well but have to realize that it is best when they stay here with their younger siblings as Miss Peregrine would want them to.

Ethan promises to take them with him another time and then leaves.

Arriving at the hospital, he calls his friend, the doctor from earlier. The visiting hours are long finished but with his connections, Ethan is sure that he will be allowed to see Alma anyway.

His friend tells him to wait in the front hall, where he will meet him to bring him to Miss Peregrine. She's still in the intensive care unit, because she started throwing up from the narcotics shortly after Ethan left and they want to keep a close eye on her.

Together they walk through some corridors until they arrive at the front desk of the intensive care unit. A few nurses look at Ethan sceptically, because they don't know him anymore, but luckily they let him pass because he's with the chief of surgery. He accompanies him up to Miss Peregrine's room and then goes to talk to the head nurse to inform her that Ethan will be allowed here at any time.

Entering the room, Ethan is greeted by Alma lifting her head to look at him. Seeing him, she smiles which turns into a grimace, because the tension makes her lip split open again.

Approaching her, Ethan kisses her forehead before sitting down next to the bed, looking at her. She still looks incredibly pale and tired. Her hair is still in the same bun, she had put it into this morning, and therefore quite dishevelled. Her lips are still very dry and now bleeding slightly.

Ethan stands up and gets an ointment, that he gently applies on her lips.

"Thank you," she says, her voice still quite hoarse but a lot better than earlier.

"How are you doing? I was told, you have been feeling nauseous," Ethan asks while stroking her cheek.

Groaning, Alma closes her eyes again, which Ethan takes as a "not so good". All in all, he gets the impression, that Alma still isn't quite clear and her usual sharp self. But he blames it on the strong pain medication, she's surely on. On Alma's question about her children, Ethan tells her that they are all asleep and that he has taken away their worries, so they could spend the evening more relieved and carefree, which Miss Peregrine is glad about.

For some time, Ethan just sits there, stroking her hand, not saying anything. Sometimes Alma would open her eyes, just to look at him or because she needs to throw up again.

But with time, she gets more agitated and whiney. Ethan tries to comfort her as best as he can but she's feeling really uncomfortable with everything. Her left hand hurts because of the cannula, she still feels quite nauseous and the pain in her leg seems to be quite bad again. Noticing her growing discomfort, Ethan leaves the room to talk to one of the nurses. Luckily he meets one of the old ones, that still know him. Friendly, she says she will come and give her some more pain killers and something against the nausea.

Grateful, Ethan returns to Alma and stays with her until she calms down. He doesn't want to leave her, as he knows that the first night after a surgery is always the hardest, but he can't stay here the whole night, either. Tenderly, he strokes her head until Alma relaxes enough to fall asleep.

"Good girl, get some sleep now," he says and kisses her forehead. Before leaving, Ethan places the alarm button next to her hand. On his way out he talks to the friendly nurse again and asks her to call him if Miss Peregrine should get any worse before wishing her a quiet night shift.

Arriving at the house, Ethan notices that there's still light in the living room. Entering, he sees that Emma has been waiting for him.

"And? How is she?" Emma asks instantly.

"She's alright," Ethan sighs. He doesn't want Emma to worry, but on the other hand he knows that he can't lie to her and that she deserves the truth.

"She didn't react well to the narcotics and is therefore feeling quite nauseous," he explains carefully. "She's also still in a lot of pain and because of the strong pain medication, she's still a bit dazed but not like earlier," Ethan tries to reassure Emma who nods understandingly.

"The first night is always the hardest but tomorrow it will already be a bit better," Ethan tries to make Emma feel better.

"Yes, of course," Emma says. She's not like her younger siblings and isn't scared by the truth. Seeing her beloved ymbryne before the surgery had been quite disturbing but Emma hasn't expected a miracle healing until know and therefore isn't surprised to hear, that she's still feeling unwell.

Ethan has already told them before, that it will take some time for her to get better, that it will be a slow recovery and that Alma will be weak and in need for help for a while.

Knowing her ymbryne, Emma knows exactly that it will be hard for Alma to accept help and endure a slow recovery. It won't mix well with her impatience, so Emma's already looking forward to some interesting next weeks. But for now they should take it one step at a time.

Grateful for the truth, Emma wishes Ethan a good night and goes to bed herself.


	13. Chapter 7 Part III

**Chapter 7**

 **Part III**

The next morning Ethan wakes up to the sound of the children running through the house. _Damn it!_

He has forgotten to ask Emma when they wake up and didn't set his alarm clock. Quickly Ethan gets dressed before joining Emma and Olive in the kitchen. They are already preparing the breakfast and the lunchboxes. He helps them as best as he can, with his little knowledge about their kitchen organisation.

While eating breakfast together, Ethan asks them about their daily routine and they plan the upcoming day. Ethan wants them to have a normal routine, even if Miss Peregrine isn't there. Although the children look a lot more carefree than yesterday, he can tell that they are still scared. The little ones are clingier than usual and all in all they are a lot more quiet.

But who can blame them, they have never been without their Miss Peregrine for more than a day and this whole situation must be really scary for them. And considering that, Ethan thinks that they are all really brave children.

After the breakfast, Ethan discusses with Emma, when he will take her to visit Miss Peregrine. Of course all the other children want to go as well, but he convince them that it's still too early for Miss Peregrine to see them all. And also the older ones know about the bond between Emma and Miss Peregrine and therefore accept that for now it should only be Emma.

As all the children got their things, Ethan and Jake drive them to school. Afterwards, Ethan drives to his house to refresh himself before going into his office. On the way he calls the hospital to hear how Miss Peregrine is doing. They tell him that she will probably be transferred to a general ward today if nothing else happens and that she will be able to receive visitors there.

Relieved, Ethan opens his office and works for a couple of hours before hanging up a note, saying that his office will be closed for all afternoons this week. Then he leaves to pick up the little ones and prepares something to eat.

Soon the older ones return as well, having convinced their teachers to let them go earlier because of an emergency situation at home.

On his way to the school, Ethan has bought a new board game for the children. He gives it to them as Emma disappears into Miss Peregrine's room to pack some things for her ymbryne.

All the younger children are really excited about the new game and want to play it immediately. The older ones know exactly that it's only meant as a distraction, but gladly accept it.

As Emma is ready, she leaves with Ethan for the hospital.

At the front desk, they are told, that they will find Miss Peregrine in the orthopaedic part of the surgical ward, where she has just been transferred to.

Taking the lift upwards, they arrive at another front desk, where a friendly nurse shows them the way to Miss Peregrine's room.

Entering, they see her lying in her bed, her leg positioned on a pillow, a cooling pack on top. Her toes, which are the only visible parts outside of the cast are still orange from the iodine from surgery. Next to them a blood-filled tube of the Redon's drainage exits the cast.

Emma has to say, that she looks better than yesterday, but of course you can still see, that she's feeling really unwell. Her face is still pale and she has dark circles around her eyes.

As Emma and Ethan approach her, she lifts her head. Alma really wants to push herself into a sitting position to appear a little more decent. But she's still feeling to weak and doesn't dare to move because of her leg.

Sighing she let her head fall back into the cushion. Her visitors sit down on both sides of the bed, Emma taking Miss Peregrine's right hand, surprised about the cannula, that's now in the crook of her right arm.

Ethan kisses her forehead, stroking back her hair before sitting down, too.

"How was the night?" he asks with his deep and calm voice as he takes her left hand.

Stroking it, he notices, that instead of the cannula, there's now a half-heartedly applied pressure dressing on the back of her hand.

But Alma doesn't need to answer his question, for he already knows the answer from his experience and because he sees it in her eyes.

"Alright, I guess," Alma lies anyway, her voice now nearly back to normal. In fact, Alma has spent the most horrible night, not having slept at all.

 _Soon after Ethan had left, the nausea returned and she didn't stop throwing up until the early morning. Once a nurse came to check on her, but she seemed in a hurry, just gave her a new vomit bowl , something to wipe her mouth with but no meds, before leaving again._

 _The next time, someone came into the room, Alma awoke from a slumber, as her left arm was lifted ruggedly. Opening her eyes, she saw the nurse running around fumbling with something to her left. Apparently she had turned too fast as the last wave of nausea hit her and had accidently ripped out the cannula from her left hand. Confused, Alma looked around and saw that half of the bed linens were drenched in a mixture of her own blood and the fluids of the infusion, that had been dripping the whole time._

 _Annoyed, the nurse stopped the bleeding and the infusion, before getting a colleague. Together they put new sheets on the bed, roughly turning Alma from site to site, which made her cry out in pain._

 _The rest of the night, Alma spent in pain as she didn't dare to use the alarm button to call a nurse again._

 _Only as she desperately needed the loo and couldn't wait any longer, Alma called for a nurse, which still seemed in a bad mood._

 _Alma apologized for disturbing her again and explained why she called but it didn't change anything and the nurse didn't treat her more gently when positioning the bedpan._

 _As the nurse returned to get it back, Alma finally brought herself to ask for some more pain killers. Grumbling the nurse injected some meds into Alma's new venous access on her right arm, before leaving once more._

 _Finally being able to relax again, Alma fell into a restless sleep until a new nurse woke her for her morning round._

Already suspecting something like this, Ethan kisses her hand. "It will get better, I promise," he says.

After a nurse has come to ask Alma what she would like to eat for dinner, Emma starts to unpack Miss Peregrine's things. Then she brushes her hair before plaiting it, so it would lie on the side of her neck, now looking proper again. While Ethan has left the room, to get another ointment for Alma's lips, which still haven't healed completely, Emma helps Miss Peregrine change into one of her night gowns. Luckily she still hasn't adapted to the modern time and kept wearing only dresses instead of trousers, which makes it a lot easier now.

A couple of minutes later, Ethan returns to the room, now looking at a more familiar sight of Miss Peregrine.

Feeling up to it at the moment, Alma starts another conversation and asks about the other children. To distract her, Emma and Ethan tell her about all the good things from at home, what they have done since yesterday, what games they have played and everything, the little ones reported from school today.

Hearing that her children are fine, Alma smiles but at the same time she starts to cry. At first, she tries to hold it back, not wanting them to see her like this but soon she doesn't care anymore and hot tears start streaming down her pale cheeks.

Affectionately, Ethan wipes them away with his thumb before kissing her. "Shh..." he tries to comfort her, but to no avail.

"I just want this to be over and I want to go home," Alma sobs heavily into his shoulder, as Ethan has bent down to hug her.

"I know," Ethan says while stroking her head again. "And you will soon," he promises.

But it doesn't ease any of Alma's discomforts. Her leg still hurts despite the pain medication, as do both her injection sites. She still feels quite nauseous, which isn't surprising, considering all the meds she constantly gets and that she hasn't really been eating. Additionally, her back starts to ache from lying in the same position since yesterday, but she still doesn't dare to move, because every little accidental movement has made the pain in her leg much worse.

Emma doesn't know what do to, so she just sits there, stroking her ymbryne's hand. She has never been sitting at a person's sick bed, at least not in a hospital, and seeing her usually strong Miss Peregrine in such a weak state, is something, she's unable to cope with.

They stay for some time in which Miss Peregrine doesn't stop crying. Finally Ethan takes her whiney condition as a sign that it's time for her next medication.

Leaving her with Emma, Ethan goes to look for a colleague. Finding his friend from yesterday, he tells him about Alma's state. Friendly, he reassures Ethan that it's not surprising that she's still in so much pain. It had been a difficult surgery, and therefore he had to make a big cut, in which he had to rummage around a lot to reach all the fractures. Therefore he allows Ethan to give Alma some more pain killers, as all the nurses are busy at the moment. He will find the syringe on the worktop in Alma's room and the doctor will go and protocol it immediately.

Grateful, Ethan returns to Alma's room and injects the medicine directly into the cannula.

After only a couple of minutes, Alma stops whining and clams down but at the same time gets quite drowsy as well, which is why Ethan and Emma decide to leave.

At home, Olive and Enoch have already prepared the dinner, while Jake played with the younger ones. All in all the children have gotten used to their new situation, but you can see that they miss their ymbryne. Especially in the evenings, there are some tears on their little cheeks. But Emma and Olive do a really good job, playing the role as a mother. The older children run the house nearly on their own. Ethan tries to help as best as he can, mostly doing the shopping, cleaning, the laundry and coordinating everything. Furthermore he has taken over the breakfast preparations, as one of the only things he can cook, are delicious pancakes. If he hadn't admired Miss Peregrine for her daily work before, he would surely do it now.

The next day, it's Olive's and Enoch's turn to visit Miss Peregrine, which they are really looking forward to, because they have missed her and want to be there for her as well.

After school they are picked up by Ethan, as Emma and Jake are already at home, looking after the others. Unsurely they follow Ethan through the huge building, that's exactly as confusing as Emma has told them. Finally they arrive at the ward and Ethan leads them to Miss Peregrine's door. After knocking and waiting for her answer, they enter.

Miss Peregrine is just eating lunch, sitting in an upright position on her bed, leaning against the backrest. Relieved, Ethan notices that she looks a lot better than yesterday and her mood has improved as well.

"I see, you're feeling better," Ethan remarks as he sits down to her left again, while motioning for Enoch and Olive to take the seats on the other side.

"Yes, I'm finally feeling a little bit like eating," Alma says but at the same time pushes her table away to concentrate on her visitors.

Happily, she greets her two teenagers, glad to see them again. They are both relieved to see their ymbryne in a better state than Emma and Ethan have described, but Olive still feels a bit uneasy, seeing her injured leg and particularly the drainage. Olive has never been good with seeing blood. As Enoch notices it, he gently places his hand on her shoulder, which already makes her feel better.

After talking for some time, Olive and Enoch present all the things, their younger siblings haven given them to take it with them. They all had chosen something for their ymbryne: some have drawn a picture or given them their favourite doll or stuffed animal and others had searched for some beautiful photos of them and Miss Peregrine.

Seeing all these presents, Alma feels quite touched and loved, but at the same time, it makes her miss them even more.

Noticing that Alma's fighting to hold back her tears again, Ethan quickly intervenes and offers to go and find a wheelchair to take Alma out of her room for the first time. Not sure if this is a good idea, Miss Peregrine hesitates with her answer, but Ethan reassures her that it will be fine and leaves the room.

As he returns with one, he gently lifts Alma out of her bed and sets her down into the chair, before fetching the drainage and attaching it onto the wheelchair.

Olive and Enoch get a thin jacket and a blanket for Miss Peregrine as it can be cold outside with just her nightgown on.

Walking around the hospital and than even around the beautiful park next to the building, they keep talking about school and the thing that are happening at home. With time, Alma gets really irritated and annoyed with the cannula in her arm and the drainage, which both begin to prick as she now starts moving more.

As Ethan sees that she's getting more and more agitated, he decides to go back to her room.

Placing her back on her bed, Alma already closes her eyes. This little trip has really robbed her of her energy, which she wouldn't have thought, as she was only sitting. But she isn't used to sitting upright anymore and her leg has started to hurt again. Knowing exactly, how she feels, Ethan gets her new pain killers before the three of them leave her to get some rest.

At home they join Emma, Jake and the others at the dining table.

As the others had left, Emma and Jake talked to Millard and the twins to be really careful, now that Ethan is living with them. He remind especially them but all other children as well, that Ethan can't know about their peculiarities. Then they played in the garden until Jake took the boys to their soccer training, while Emma prepared dinner.

During the meal, Olive and Enoch report on their afternoon with Miss Peregrine. Especially Emma is relieved to hear that their ymbryne was well enough to leave the bed for the first time.

The next morning Ethan doesn't go into his office after bringing the kids to school. He has called his assistant to tell her to close the office for the day, as he wanted to be with Alma when the doctors do their medical round. He wants to know what they have to say about the next steps and as Alma's never able to repeat to him what the doctors have said in the mornings, he just want to hear everything they have to say about her condition for himself. For his liking, Alma's still in too much pain and he wants to hear the opinion of his colleagues.

Entering her room, Miss Peregrine is just eating breakfast. Happy about the sight of her eating properly again, he greets her with a kiss on her head and sits down next to the bed.

"What are you doing here so early?" Alma asks pleasantly surprised.

"I wanted to be here when the doctors come, as you're always unable to tell me what they said," he teases her.

Poking her tongue out at Ethan, Alma breaks her croissant in two halves, puts a bit of honey on one of it and holds it out for Ethan. "Eat some," she says as he shakes his head. " I'm pretty sure you haven't had enough time this morning to eat properly. You always forget that you're living my life at the moment and that I know exactly how it feels," she says winking at him. And as he still hesitates, she adds:" Besides, it's too much for just me, I've already eaten enough and they only put it in the bin, you wouldn't want that, would you?"

Laughing, Ethan finally accepts the croissant and together they share the rest of Alma's breakfast.

Afterwards Ethan goes into the corridor to see where the ward round trolley stands, so he knows they will be here soon. Until then, he clears the table of the food tray and hands Alma her brush, so she can do her hair.

After a couple of minutes, they hear the knock at the door and then a couple of people, dressed in white, enter the room. In the first row are the chief surgeon and two of his attendings and in the back Ethan can see a couple of young men and women. Seeing them reminds him of his time as a med student and later as an intern. Knowing how they feel he gives them an encouraging smile before greeting their superiors.

The surgeons inform them about Alma's latest blood values before taking a look at her wound. As they take off her cast and the dressings, Ethan holds Alma's hand, because he can see that it's painful for her. Alma buries her face in Ethan's shoulder because she can't bear seeing the long cut with the tube coming out of her leg. Besides, she also feels quite embarrassed in front of Ethan for how her leg looks, as she wasn't able to wash it since the surgery.

But Ethan just concentrates on the wound, from his seat he tries to take a good look at it.

It doesn't look too bad, in fact really good, no swelling or redness, but it hasn't healed as much as one would expect. It looks rather like a fresh surgical wound instead of one that's already 3 days old.

And it's not only Ethan's opinion, as the other doctors notice it as well. Furthermore there's still too much secretion and blood in the drainage. They have planned to remove it today but considering the slow healing process, they decide to postpone it for at least one day. Carefully, they dress the leg again, while talking to Ethan about the next steps. Originally they wanted to start her on physiotherapy very soon but now they think it's too early. They decide to do another control x-ray to check how well her bones are healing. And as soon as they can detect the start of a healing process of her bones on the x-ray and they have removed the drainage, she can start the physiotherapy.

Furthermore they talk about her pain medication. As she has been drugged up for days now and as they know that it's making her tired, they would like to reduce it, so her body can finally get used to a normal state. But as she's still in a lot of pain, which isn't surprising with the wound looking like it is, they let her make the decision. Whenever she thinks she needs any meds, she can have them but when she wants to try without it for a while it's good, too.

Before leaving again, they reassure Ethan and Alma, that they shouldn't worry. Everything looks fine for now, it just takes longer to heal than normal, which gives no reason for concern.

As soon as the doctors have left, Ethan notices Alma's low spirits. Of course this has been a rebound, as she was hoping to go back home very soon. To distract her and because Ethan saw how uncomfortable she was with her leg, he offers to take her to the bathroom and help her with the washing.

Gladly Alma accepts this offer, so Ethan lifts her up and walks to the small bathroom, where she can sit down on a plastic chair. Quickly, he gets another stool for her to lay her leg on. While she undresses herself as best as she can, Ethan gets some towels to place on her leg to keep it dry.

Alma feels a little bit awkward, as she has never been naked in front of Ethan before, not that she hasn't thought of it. But in her imagination it has never been in a situation like this. But she desperately wants to shower and therefore she's willing to endure it.

Carefully, Alma leans back as Ethan washes her long black hair. Afterwards Alma tries to clean her upper body, as Ethan washes her back before gently cleaning her toes of blood and iodine while Alma continues with the rest. A few times, she winces, but she's happy to see her clean toes afterwards. As soon as they have dried her body with some towels, Ethan begins to blow-dry her beautiful hair. He has never seen it like this before, because she always puts it in a bun. But he has to say, wearing it loose like this, makes her even prettier.

As Alma is dressed, she brushes her teeth before asking Ethan to leave her for a while to use the toilet, as she has had enough of these bedpans and she wants to take the chance, while she's already in the bathroom. After helping her to the toilet, Ethan leaves the bathroom. Waiting for her to call him, he goes over to the window and closes it, as he doesn't want her to get sick from sitting in a draft after taking a shower.

After Alma has called Ethan and he has carried her back to her bed, she feels like a whole new person. Clean and happy she lies back to rest a bit, as she feels quite exhausted from it all.

"Are you ok?" Ethan asks after some minutes of silence. Nodding, Alma opens her eyes.

"How's the pain?" Ethan keeps asking. "Bearable, as long as I don't move it," Alma answers honestly.

"Do you want any pain killers?" Ethan offers but Alma shakes her head. "No I'm alright for now."

They keep lying on the bed for some time, until Ethan offers to take her for a walk. Alma would rather stay in bed, still feeling exhausted, but she knows that she has to get used to being up for longer if she wants to get home soon, so she says yes.

Together they spend some time in the little park, enjoying the sun and the fresh air. They keep talking about a lot of things, but mostly about her children. Ethan tells Alma that they are all fine and carrying on as normal. Hearing that, Alma informs him that he can now be more strict with them, insisting that they do their homework and telling them to practice their instruments. It can only be good for them to have their daily routine and after taking a break for some days to get used to the new situation they shouldn't neglect these things any longer.

Laughing about her strictness, Ethan promises to remind them of their duties, before they both go back inside. Lying back in her bed, Alma closes her eyes again.

"Get some rest," Ethan says and kisses her on her forehead. But as he wants to turn around, Alma opens her eyes again and takes his hand. "Please stay a while longer," she begs," or isn't there any time?"

"No, no," Ethan replies quickly," there's still time, but I thought you wanted to sleep for a while."

"No I'm just relaxing a little bit, I can sleep later, when you're gone," she explains. "Please come here," she says pointing at the space next to her. Smiling to himself, Ethan sits down next to Alma, who shifts a bit to make more room for him before leaning back into his arms. Half lying on his lap and in his arms, she closes her eyes again and relaxes, as he starts caressing her arm and her head with his hands. Alma thinks that despite her pain and all the uncomfortable things here in the hospital, she has never felt so at ease before. They stay like this for some time without saying a word, just enjoying being close to each other.

As Ethan begins to kiss her head and then her forehead, Alma opens her eyes and looks at him confused. But Ethan doesn't explain himself and keeps kissing her. Alma enjoys it but wants to know what has brought on this new behaviour of him. "What is it?" she asks therefore.

"Nothing," Ethan says smirking. "I'm just happy that you're feeling a bit better and that we're here together," he explains and continues kissing her. He has already reached her ear and then her cheek, which makes Alma giggle because she's quite ticklish. "If it's just that, shouldn't I be doing the same thing?" she debates. "Maybe you should," Ethan replies laughing, before kissing the tip of her nose. Amazed by this, Alma looks into his eyes, to see a lot of feelings: joy, insecurity, affection and maybe even desire.

Mesmerized by his blue eyes she feels like she has never seen such a beautiful thing. Ethan has stopped kissing her and suddenly it feels like the time is standing still. His face is so close that she can't see anything else, except for his eyes, which seem to come closer and open up for her, so she can see deep into him.

And then he's so close, that she can't see into both his eyes anymore and that she can feel his breath, tickling her skin. Unsure of what's to come next, Alma's heart rate increases and her body goes rigid for a moment

And suddenly, before she can think about it, she feels his lips lightly brushing hers. It's so unfamiliar to her, that her breath jolts. Ethan seems to notice it and she can feel his breath again as he laughs. But all of a sudden he's quiet and presses his lips against hers, while his rightt hand rests over her right ear, his thumb still caressing her head.

But it's not intrusive, it's as gentle as everything he does and makes a warmth spread throughout Alma's body. She sees that Ethan has closed his eyes, so she does the same. Not seeing anymore, just feeling, makes her notice a lot of more things. His lips feel warm and soft, still tasting of honey and coffee. They are so unlike hers which are still dry. Luckily she had the chance to brush her teeth earlier. Again distracted by his touch she takes in his scent. He smells like something sweet and his after-shave lotion. Feeling Ethan move again, she turns her head even more into his direction and he pulls her body closer, still careful with her leg. As he slightly parts his lips and takes her lower lip in between his, Alma accidentally lets out a soft moan. Startled by her own reaction she opens her eyes. Something she shouldn't have done, as she quickly gets aware her surroundings and suddenly all the reality comes back to her. All of a sudden she feels terribly embarrassed for her chapped lips, so she pulls back awkwardly and lowers her head.

"I'm sorry," Ethan whispers immediately and straightens himself again.

"Don't be," Alma answers quickly, having recovered from her embarrassment. Now as his touch is gone, she feels quite cold and lonely, so she lifts her right arm to bring his head back down to hers. This time it's her, who takes the initiative and brings her lips to his. Immediately she feels complete again and starts parting her lips like he did before.

It's surprising that after only a couple of seconds, Alma already needs this new closeness, even if she hasn't missed it her whole life.

Both of them deepen the kiss, their hands caressing the other, before they have to stop again to breathe. After planting another kiss on Alma's head, Ethan rests his chin on her head, still holding her close in his arms.

"Are you ok with this?" Ethan finally asks and Alma nods. She knows what this is about, she has really made him unsure with her first reaction.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she tries to explain. "I just felt your soft lips and thought you would feel uncomfortable with mine," she shyly admits.

"Did I seem uncomfortable to you?" Ethan laughs and Alma shakes her head and has to smile as well.

"I've got an idea," Ethan finally says and leans to his left to grab the ointment of the nightstand.

But instead of applying it onto Alma's lips he uses it for himself, and not even like one would do but really messy and way too much.

"If you're feeling uncomfortable with it, let me take care of your lips," he says and leans down again, pressing his lips onto hers, spreading the ointment while kind of rubbing it in with his own lips.

Trying to hold back a laugh, Alma endures it until her lips feel better and the ointment has been spread enough.

Happy, she leans back into Ethan's chest and starts to relax even more, enjoying his touch as he's still caressing her arms with his hands. There are so many thoughts in her head right now, but Alma decides to let them wait for later and just enjoy the present. With time, Alma gets more drowsy and slowly falls asleep in Ethan arms, a smile still on her face.

Ethan waits until Alma is fast asleep and then carefully frees himself to stand up. It's already a quarter to 12, so he leaves Alma a note, saying: _You're beautiful when you're asleep. Rest well, I see you soon_ and leaves to pick up the children.

After he has picked up the children and they have had lunch with the others, he sits down with them to help or check their homework. Then, as all children have arrived, he tells them what Miss Peregrine has said, which makes them all sigh in annoyance. Nonetheless they oblige and go to practice their instruments one after another. Ethan who normally isn't involved with music, enjoys this little concert, amazed by their skills.

Afterwards, he lets them enjoy their free time, playing in the garden, while he does the laundry before helping Olive and Emma with the cooking. Ethan is in such a good mood, that even Emma and Olive notice the constant smile on his lips, which makes them think about the cause.

As they enjoy the dessert, Ethan has bought for after the dinner, he tells them about a surprise.

Tomorrow, he will take the first half of the children to visit Miss Peregrine and on Sunday the others can go as well. Happy and excited all the children start talking at once, making plans for the next two days. Ethan explains, that Miss Peregrine is now feeling good enough, but he will take the older children first and the smaller ones the second day, so that she's even better for the younger ones.

After such news it's hard for him to get all the children to sleep, but after watching a movie with some hot chocolate and reading to them, they finally close their eyes.

Exhausted from the long day as well, he sits down in the living room with a glass of wine, soon joined by the four oldest children.

"I would offer you a glass as well, but as I know, how Miss Peregrine would feel about it, I'd rather not," Ethan jokes, which makes the others laugh. "Don't worry, we're fine," Emma quickly replies. They keep talking for some time, about their days and the younger children until Olive asks about Miss Peregrine. They know exactly, that Ethan leaves out the details and especially the bad things, when he talks to them all.

"She's alright," Ethan answers. "She's got a bit of a problem with her healing process, though, which makes her a bit sad, as you know that she wants to be back to normal as soon as possible."

"What kind of problem exactly?" Enoch asks confused and the others look quite concerned as well.

"It's just that her wound and everything is healing very slowly. Everything looks alright and you can see that it's healing but it should have healed a lot more by now, that's all," Ethan tries to reassure them.

"And that's not a good thing for our impatient Miss Peregrine," Emma remarks smiling a bit. "No, not at all," Ethan answers.

"But today was quite good, I took her to the bathroom, so she could wash herself, which cheered her up again and then we went for another walk. She's getting there, even when it's a slow process," Ethan explains, smiling as he thinks about what happened afterwards. To keep the others from noticing, he quickly takes a sip of his wine, but he couldn't fool Emma and Olive who have already been suspicious.

After talking some more and as Ethan has finished his glass, the children say goodnight and leave him to make his bed on the couch.

Exhausted but happy about today's events, Ethan quickly falls asleep, Alma's beautiful black hair and the feeling of her lips against his the last thing he thinks about.


	14. Chapter 7 Part IV

**Chapter 7**

 **Part IV**

As Ethan leaves the house on the Saturday morning, the children are all still asleep. He leaves a note for them, saying that he will be briefly checking on Alma, but he will be back home soon.

In the hospital, Alma has already finished her breakfast as Ethan knocks at her door. For the first time greeting her with a kiss on the mouth, he sits down next to her.

Ethan reports on their last afternoon, how they all practiced their instruments and that he decided to bring some of them to her this afternoon. Really excited about seeing her children again, Alma hugs Ethan before telling him about her afternoon and night.

Shortly after lunch, someone came to get her for the x-ray. But not much else happened since then and Alma slept most of the time. Telling it to Ethan, she just leaves out a few details, for example that she hasn't slept well because her nightmares have returned, as she's now taking less meds.

Because there's still time before the doctors come, Ethan helps Alma into the bathroom again. This time he lets her do it on her own with the wheelchair and only helps when she really needs it. He wants her to get independent again, so she can manage on her own while he is not there. When she's able to use the bathroom on her own or she can leave her room, he hopes that it will get more bearable and diverting for her to stay here a bit longer.

Returning from the bathroom, Alma and Ethan sit down on the bed together and keep talking until a doctor comes to speak with them again. He informs Ethan about what they saw on the x-ray. An early beginning of a healing process could be detected, but it's definitely too early for physiotherapy, so Alma will need some more patience. Nonetheless, the doctor brings some good news as well. Even if there are still some fluids in the drainage, they have decided to remove it today. The little secretion, that will still develop in the wound, will surely be reabsorbed by her body in due time.

Happy about at least a bit of progress but sill scared of the approaching procedure, Alma leans back into Ethan's arms, who holds her even tighter. The doctor prepares everything, by placing a sheet under her leg and getting all the tools he'll need. Then he cuts open the dressings and puts them away to get better access to the wound. Carefully, he cuts the two stitches, that have been holding the tube in place, while Alma starts squeezing Ethan's hand. As the doctor starts pulling out the tube, Alma takes in a sharp breath and bites her lip to keep her from making any noise because of the pain. Luckily it's over pretty soon and the doctor redresses the wound and then her leg and leaves them.

Still in pain, Alma snuggles up to Ethan and relaxes in his arms, enjoying his scent. As she has recovered enough, Ethan slowly sits up to go.

"Get some more rest, before we all come by later," he says winking at Alma. Remembering about seeing her children today, Alma nearly forgets about the pain and nods enthusiastically. Kissing Ethan goodbye, she takes his advice and closes her eyes to catch up on the sleep, she didn't get last night.

Arriving back home, Ethan is greeted by Emma and Jake, who are already setting the table. Some of the children are still asleep while Olive is playing with the little ones in their room and Hugh is outside to get some fresh honey.

But soon everyone gathers at the table to eat breakfast. Fiona, Hugh, Millard and Horace are already quite excited about visiting their ymbryne and can't talk about anything else, while the younger ones are pouting, because they have to wait another day. Since Emma and Jake are going to accompany them to the hospital, Enoch and Olive will stay behind and promise the other staying children to do something fun instead.

As they finish eating, it's already 12 o'clock, so they don't have to wait too much longer before half of them gets to leave. Quickly they get their things ready, because all of them have something, they want to show their ymbryne, and then Ethan calls them to leave.

On their way, they stop at a little store to buy some chocolate and a bunch of flowers. It was Ethan's idea to make Alma's time in the hospital as good as possible.

Soon they are all in the hospital, Ethan showing them the way to their ymbryne. Interested, as they've never seen such a complex building, they look around and especially Millard and Horace ask Ethan about a lot of things they see.

Furthermore, Millard feels even quite comfortable walking around the corridors as he sees a couple of people who have bandages on their faces, so for the first time, no one looks at him differently.

As they finally open the door to Miss Peregrine's room, all the children storm in enthusiastically. Their ymbryne is sitting on her bed with one of her lovely smiles, already expecting them. Ethan thinks, that she has never looked this good since the accident, even though he knows that it's mostly just put-on, as he has seen her earlier. Of course Emma notices, that Ethan greets her with a kiss on her mouth. She has never seen it and makes a note in her head to talk to Olive about it later.

Fiona is the first to run towards Miss Peregrine, embracing her in a long hug. Miss Peregrine leans forward, as far as her position allows and holds her tight. She has really missed her children. After the boys have briefly joined the hug, they all sit down around the bed. Once, they have given the chocolate and the flowers to her, the children tell Alma about everything that has happened since they last saw her, not caring if she has already heard it before from Ethan. Horace and Millard have brought her tests from last week, of course both have achieved the best mark, which they are really proud of. As is Alma who tells them how happy she is. Then Fiona tells her about all her plants at home and gives Alma some fruits she has harvested earlier. Amazed by their size, Alma places them on her nightstand and lets Fiona know, that she will really enjoy them later.

As they have nothing more to say, the children also want to know everything from their ymbryne. Especially Millard is really interested in all the things about the surgery and her leg. If it was possible, he would love to see it properly, not just the cast.

"Then you should have been here this morning," Alma tells him laughing and explains about the drainage. "I had to close my eyes because I couldn't look at it," she laughs, which makes Millard quite proud.

While all the children talk, Emma and Jake stay in the background. Jake still hasn't got the same bond with Miss Peregrine as the other children and Emma has talked to her more than every other, so she's fine with just watching them. It makes her really happy to see her ymbryne feeling so much better than the last time she saw her.

They keep talking and laughing for a while until Alma gets more absent-minded and leans back into her bed, letting the other children talk more to themselves.

"Is it enough, do you need more rest?" Ethan says quietly, while taking her hand.

"No, it's alright but my leg is hurting again," she complains. "I'll get you something for it," Ethan says before standing up. The other children haven't noticed a thing and keep talking cheerfully. Only as Ethan injects the pain medication into Alma's arm, they take an interested look and ask what this is all about. Ethan assures them that it's all normal and that Miss Peregrine still needs her meds from time to time.

And it only takes a short time and then Miss Peregrine is back to her previous mood and they keep laughing together. The children have brought a game of cards, which they are now playing with the adults.

After a couple of rounds of Alma complaining that she's always loosing and Millard trying to cheat a few times, they stop playing as it's already quite late and the nurses will soon come with the dinner.

"Do they always eat so early in hospitals?" Fiona asks astonished.

"Yes they do," Ethan explains. "The patients normally don't have much to do here anyway or need to go to bed early, as they need the sleep."

"And that's exactly, what our patient here needs as well," he adds after looking at Alma, who seems quite tired again. Understandingly, the children nod before they all say their goodbyes, asking when they will be able to come again.

As the last one, Ethan gives Alma another kiss. Emma and Jake are already taking the others out of the room to give them some privacy.

Taking Ethan's hand, Alma moves it towards her mouth and kisses it. "Thank you!" she says, placing his hand against her cheek. "And not just for today."

"You're very welcome and it is no trouble at all," Ethan assures her while sitting down on the edge of the bed again.

"No seriously," Alma insists. "I don't know how to thank you enough for what you do every day. I wouldn't know what to do without you. With my children but also with myself. You're always here for me and that helps me a lot," Alma explains on the verge to tears.

"Hey, hey, no crying today," Ethan says," I thought we were past that." Gently he takes Alma's head in his hands.

"I'm really happy to be here for you," he starts. "And you don't have to thank me. The only thing, I want is to see you happy and healthy again, do you understand?"

Half laughing, half crying, Alma nods. Ethan wipes away the few tears that have escaped Alma's eyes before kissing her passionately.

"Thank you anyway," Alma states, now smiling again. "You're incorrigible," Ethan laughs before standing up.

"Do you need anything else, that I shall bring you tomorrow?" he asks. "No, I don't think so," Alma answers unsure. "Maybe some new clothes," she suggests," if you take the old ones with you, that would be great. But don't bother doing the laundry, that can wait until I'm home again." "Nonsense!" Ethan retorts while quickly getting the bag with Alma's old clothes.

"See you tomorrow then," he says and leaves before Alma can say another word.

At home, the other children are already eating dinner. They have spent the day on the beach with Olive and Enoch, playing in the sand, building sandcastles and even swimming. Enoch took the twins by the hand and Olive the two girls. Proudly, Bronwyn has showed Olive and Claire how she learned swimming in school, but it was quite difficult for her in the open sea. Then Olive and Enoch tried to teach the other three how to swim as well before they all lied down in the sand until they were dry.

Exhausted, they returned and Enoch and Olive prepared something to eat, while the others were taking a shower.

As the older children come back from Miss Peregrine, they're just finishing and want to bring the younger ones to bed, as they're really tired from their day.

Afterwards Enoch and Olive join the newcomers on the table and ask about their afternoon. Happy, the children tell them about their time with Miss Peregrine and also Emma lets them know how good their ymbryne looked today.

Finally, they have finished and go to bed as well, while Ethan takes care of Alma's laundry, before going to bed himself.

On the Sunday morning, the younger children get up especially early as they are really excited to see their ymbryne today. Quietly, they tip toe out of their room, past Ethan into the girls room to wake up Emma and Olive. Opening their eyes to the sight of their younger siblings jumping on their beds, Emma and Olive have to laugh. Reluctantly they get up and together they prepare the breakfast, while the others get up as well.

After the breakfast, Ethan leaves with the four younger ones and Enoch and Olive. With the little ones, Ethan wants to visit Miss Peregrine in the morning, so that she's as rested as possible.

But as they enter their room, Ethan immediately notices, that she's not feeling as good as yesterday. He knows, that she will be having good and bad days for a long time until she's really healed again, but nonetheless he sends the children out to get another pair of chairs and sits down next to her.

"A bad night?" he asks after kissing her. Alma just nods and closes her eyes again.

"My leg really hurts again, I couldn't really sleep, but the doctor said it's alright and we should just wait," Alma explains.

"He's right," Ethan reassure her and takes a look at her leg. It's quite swollen again, which isn't surprising, though, after they removed the drainage. "If the swelling doesn't get much worse, it's best to just wait, your body will do the rest," he explains. "As for the pain, I bet it's worse firstly because of the swelling itself and secondly because the cast will now be pressing against the wound. If you want I'll go and get some more pain killers," Ethan offers.

"I don't want to take these damn things anymore, but the pain is too strong," Alma complains, nearly crying once more. The progress is just too small for her liking and she just wants to get better and get home.

"Hey, hey," Ethan says and kisses Alma's forehead."It's alright to take pain killers, you've only just had surgery and you don't need to bear the pain, ok?" Alma nods hesitantly, so Ethan stands up to get the medicine.

On the corridor, he meets the children and tells them to wait for him before entering the room. He wants to give Alma the pain killers first.

As he injects it into Alma's vein, he calls the children to come in. Now it's not long until the medicine works and Alma can enjoy the time with her children.

Excited, the four younger ones approach Alma and she greets them all with a kiss on their heads. They are all talking at once, giving new self-made pictures to their ymbryne, which she inspects closely before placing them on her nightstand.

As the pain gets better, Alma lets Claire and one of the twins climb on her bed, so she can hug them properly.

Together they keep talking for some time, while Ethan puts the new clothes in Alma's dresser. First, he thinks he can do it without her noticing, but then he hears her.

"Oh, Ethan you shouldn't have," Alma says smiling but shaking her head. Ethan had put her old clothes in the washing machine yesterday, so he could bring them back today.

"It was no trouble," Ethan assures her and sits down next to the others.

The children keep talking about everything, they have done during the last week and how frightened they first were, when they saw her injured. Claire even apologizes again for using the in-line skates inside the house and promises not to do it again.

Alma doesn't like to see her children sad, so she hugs them again, reassuring them that it's alright now. To distract them, she asks about school and their hobbies. Excited they forget about the sad things and keep talking. The twins and the girls have learned new things in their training this week and they tell Miss Peregrine, that they can't wait to show them to her. Seeing that the children are a good distraction for Miss Peregrine as well, Ethan suggests, that they should go for a walk so they can show her their new skills in the park.

Enthusiastically, the children jump to their feet, ready to go outside.

Ethan asks Alma if she's really feeling up to it and as she nods, he carefully lifts her up and places her in the wheelchair. She should be able to move from bed to the wheelchair alone by know, as they had tried it yesterday, but today with her leg he wants her to save the energy.

In the park, they stop under a tree, where the older ones sit down on a bench and the younger ones on the grass. Ethan goes to get a ball, while Claire and Bronwyn already present their new learned skills.

After the boys have showed their new soccer tricks as well, they keep walking around the park for some time. All the children want to push Miss Peregrine's wheelchair once. But soon Alma begs Ethan to go back inside as she's not feeling too good again.

Back inside, Ethan carries Alma back to her bed and tells the children that they all should go now, as Miss Peregrine needs to rest.

Disappointed but understanding it as well, they all say goodbye to their ymbryne before going to the door. Ethan gives Alma another kiss before asking:" Can I do anything before we leave?"

"You could close the window, if you like," Alma replies. "And maybe plump the pillow up?" she adds smirking as Ethan returns from the window. Laughing, Ethan takes her pillow and does as she has asked. Then he kisses her one last time and leaves with the children, who wave their goodbye again.

The afternoon they spend at home, Ethan playing a lot with them, so Emma, Olive, Enoch and Jake have some time to themselves after helping so much during the last week.

Afterwards, they all cook a big meal together, Emma and Olive showing them the main course and Ethan showing them his favourite dessert: real French chocolate mousse.

Later Emma and Olive tuck in their younger siblings, while Ethan drives to the hospital once more.

He has always tried to go there at least once a day and if possible twice, as the hospital isn't that far away. He knows how Alma must feel, the whole day alone with the pain and her homesickness and especially visiting her on his own does her good. Of course she really enjoys seeing her children, but it's still exhausting for her and when it's just him, she's not alone but can still close her eyes for a while.

As he enters her room, the light is already off and Alma has closed her eyes. But she's still awake and opens them as soon as she hears him. Sitting down next to her, Ethan notices a cooling pack on her leg. She explains, that the pain has been worse during the afternoon, so the doctors decided to cool her leg to stop the swelling. And now for the night she has been dosed with more pain killers.

"So hopefully, I will be able to sleep tonight," Alma sighs.

Taking her in his arm, Ethan reassures her that everything will be alright.

"Tomorrow is Monday and a new week starts," he explains. "Then there will be more doctors here and they normally do more tests. And with some time you feel better, I promise."

Taking Ethan by his word, Alma leans back into him. "If you say so...But what are we going to do the next week, you can't keep your office closed for weeks," she points out.

"Of course I can," Ethan replies," and I will be there to help you with everything for as long as you'll need it, ok?"

Relieved, Alma nods and snuggles up to Ethan, who embraces her with his arms. Taking some deep breaths, Alma relaxes and closes her eyes again.

"Thank you for being here," she whispers before falling asleep.

After enjoying her sleeping sight for some time, Ethan gets up. Carefully he takes the cooling pack of her leg and covers her with the blanket completely for the night, before driving back home.

The next days pass by as normal as always. The children are feeling really happy and relieved after seeing their ymbryne fitter and better again, so they can concentrate on their daily routine.

Ethan still tries to visit Alma as much as possible, so that she doesn't feel too lonely, as she's getting more impatient by the day and just wants to go home.

But at the same time, Ethan tries working in his office a couple of hours in the morning and then in the afternoon as some older children are at home to take care of the younger ones. If there's enough time, Ethan takes them to visit Miss Peregrine or sometimes even Jake would drive with them to the hospital when Ethan has to work longer.

With a lot of help from Ethan, Emma and Olive keep managing the house, so do Jake and Enoch.

The little free time they have, the four of them enjoy being able to do what they want, without Miss Peregrine watching over them. As Ethan doesn't check on them in the evenings, the couples have started to share their beds during the nights. They would take turns, though, who's sleeping in a room with Fiona and who gets to have the boy's room to themselves for the night.

While Olive and Enoch just enjoy lying next to each other, kissing and maybe letting their hands roam freely before falling asleep, Emma and Jake are a few steps ahead. After taking it slow for the first weeks after they all moved here, the two are now in a real relationship. They haven't told anyone, but that's not necessary, as they all know about the two couples. Every free minute Emma and Jake got to themselves, they spend kissing passionately somewhere in a corner.

Jake has never been so close to anyone before and even for Emma this kind of relationship is quite new, so they both explore their possibilities.

But at the same time they know exactly that they can't go any further until Emma had all the HPV vaccinations, even if they are more than ready. And then there's Miss Peregrine to consider as well, what are they going to do when she's back, shall they talk to her or try to keep it a secret? They haven't decided yet.

In the meantime, though, Jake had found different ways to please Emma without anything they are not allowed to. After finding out about Jake's girlfriend, his friend Ricky has given him a lot of tricks for girls, he's now trying out.

As for Miss Peregrine, she's still too busy with herself to notice any change in the way her teens are behaving with each other. She grows more frustrated by the day, as her healing process still hasn't sped up. Her leg is healing, that's for sure, it's better than on the first day, but when Alma can see other patients, who had their surgeries later than she had, already running around on crouches, she could cry again.

Even Ethan and the other doctors have no explanation for this phenomenon. They have done a major checkup, doing all kind of tests, which were all fine. And since everything is healing steadily, even if it's slow, they see no other way than to just wait.

For Alma it's hell, lying in her bed most of the time, still not being able to do a lot of things on her own.

Most of the children don't notice these problems, but the four older ones, who have already been informed about it by Ethan a couple of days ago, see and feel the tension in the room, when they visit their ymbryne.

So one day, as Emma and Enoch visit her after school, they start talking about it. Enoch has read a lot about the healing process the last days and couldn't find anything that could explain Miss Peregrine's problems.

Carefully Emma and Enoch ask their ymbryne if it might be possible, that her peculiarity might be the reason. And it's not even farfetched, considering that an ymbryne's body is able to change in between two shapes.

"Have you ever heard of problems like this from other ymbrynes?" Emma asks but Miss Peregrine shakes her head. "Not that I know of," she answers. "But I have thought about it, too, after no one had an explanation," she sighs.

"Yes, maybe an ymbryne's body heals a lot more slowly, because it's so changeable," Enoch debates. "But wouldn't peculiars know that, Miss Peregrine surely isn't the first injured ymbryne. What about Miss Kestral, she had had an accident," Emma argues.

"But she hadn't had surgery as far as I know, right Miss P.?" Enoch insists and Miss Peregrine shakes her head.

Concentrated the three keep thinking about it but don't find a good answer.

"Maybe she's really the first one who had a big surgery, or it's different for every ymbryne and the other's healed a bit faster or no one noticed the difference to other humans," Enoch suggests finally.

"Maybe," Miss Peregrine sighs," but it's useless to think about it, as we can't change it anyway. I just have to wait a little longer." Disappointed, the other two nod. They have really wanted to help their ymbryne, but apparently no one can.

"Speaking of ymbryne's," Emma starts a new topic. "What about your ability to transform. Will it be dysfunctional when you can't transform into a bird for so long, like it's the other way round?" she asks concerned. Miss Peregrine releases a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment.

"I don't know either, Emma, I'm sorry," she finally says, nearly crying. She feels terrible, what kind of ymbryne is she? She can't take care of her children, because she's lying here in the bed the whole day and she may even loose her ability to transform into a bird. And who knows what consequences that will have. In the end she might even loose the ability to manipulate time. Then she's nothing anymore and will have to find a new ymbryne for her children.

Alma hides her face in her hands, so that Enoch and Emma can't see her emotions. She can't have a mental breakdown now in front of them, she has to be strong and pushes these thoughts far away. It takes a little while and she can look up again. Of course, Emma and Enoch have seen how difficult it is for her, so Emma has started stroking her arm.

"It's alright, Miss P.," she comforts her. "Everything will be alright in the end, I'm sure."

"Yes and we will always be with you, no matter what happens," Enoch reassures her.

Touched by these words, Alma tries to smile again. "Thank you," she says and takes their hands. "I'm really happy to have you and seeing how you manage all on your own makes me really proud. I'm sorry, though, that you have to do so much at the moment, but I promise you that I'll make it up to you, when this is over," she says, squeezing their hands.

"Oh, Miss P.," Emma smiles, "there's no need, we're glad that we can help in some way and we're the happy ones, because we got you." "That's right!" Enoch agrees, which makes Miss Peregrine smile.

After this talk, Emma and Enoch stay a little while longer until Miss Peregrine's mood has improved, before they go back home and leave their ymbryne happy and relieved.


	15. Chapter 7 Part V

**Chapter 7**

 **Part V**

On the 10th day after Miss Peregrine's surgery, as still no drastic change in her healing process is detectable, the doctors have another talk with her and Ethan.

"We've observed you closely for the last week and tried everything we could to speed up your recovery, but your wound and your bone are still healing too slowly," the chief surgeon states.

"Therefore, we still can't start the physiotherapy and the only thing we can do is wait. It's definitely not normal but no reason to despair either. I can only repeat, your leg is definitely healing, just slowly. You'll just need patience. And therefore and because we know that you're not feeling comfortable with staying here, we agree to let you go home," the doctor breaks the news.

Surprised, Alma looks at Ethan, she can't believe that this is happening, as they have only told her bad news about her leg during the last days. Ethan smiles at her, he already knew what his friend would say, because he has discussed it with them earlier. It was him, who had told the doctors about Alma's mental state. And before making a final decision the doctors also had to ask Ethan, if he will be there to take care of Miss Peregrine.

Happy about his patients reaction, the doctor continues: "You're definitely unhappy here and because the mental health is essential for the healing process as well we thought, this is the best solution. You could lie here for days until you're fit enough for physiotherapy and to go home, but frankly, it wouldn't heal any faster. Staying here only carries a higher risk of an infection. Just be aware of one thing: We only let you go because Ethan said that he will be there if something happens. You're definitely still in need of medical care and not allowed to do anything else than resting, like you do here, is that clear?"

Enthusiastically, Alma nods, taking Ethan's hand and kissing it out of joy.

"Ok, then you may go. We want to see you regularly for checkups and control x-rays and if anything gets worse, you have to come back immediately," the doctor warns.

"Of course! Thank you doctor," Alma answers and then the doctors leave them alone.

Beaming, Alma looks at Ethan, she still can't believe it.

"So you knew?," she asks curious.

"They only told me earlier to ask if I will be able to care for you," he explains, already standing up to pack her things.

As he has finished and Alma has put on some proper clothes, he lifts her into her wheelchair and they make their way down to Ethan's car.

But already on their way home, Alma has to feel that the doctor was right and that she actually still belongs in a hospital bed. For the first time since the surgery, she can't keep her leg elevated and every movement of the car makes her wince in pain, even if Ethan drives as carefully as he can.

Luckily they are alone as they arrive at home. All the children are still in school. Originally, they wanted to plan a welcome party for the return of their ymbryne, but now everything happened so quickly. Ethan is glad, though, because he wants Alma to lie down in her room immediately.

As he carries her into the house and then in her room, Alma notices Ethan's blanket and pillow.

"Have you slept in the living room?" she asks astonished.

"Of course," Ethan answers and places her on her own bed. "Where else should I have stayed?" he laughs.

"In my bed of course," Alma states. "Did you seriously sleep on the hard couch the whole time, while my bed was empty?" she asks now slightly offended.

"Yes. It's your bed and not mine, so I would never sleep there and I wouldn't even enter your room without your permission," Ethan replies, which makes Alma shake her head in disbelief.

"You could have asked?" she argues.

"I would never do that either and besides, there were more important things to talk about during your first days in the hospital," Ethan ends the discussion.

"Anyway, from now on, you're at least sleeping here in my room on the couch, if that's alright. I'm afraid, that my bed is a bit too small for the both of us, at least for longer. But I guess the couch here is still better than in the living room, where everyone walks by on their way to the bathroom," Alma decides and Ethan accepts her offer and moves all his stuff from the living room to Alma's couch. Then he gets the rest out of the car, including the wheelchair, which he places next to Alma's bed.

"Do you need anything else?" he asks then.

"I don't think so," Alma replies. "But can't you take me into the living room, I could stay there on the couch," she begs but Ethan shakes his head.

"You're staying here and I want you to rest until the children return. It will get exhausting enough in the afternoon," he orders and then leaves Alma alone.

Of course all the children explode with joy as soon as they get to know that Miss Peregrine is back home, but Ethan sets some rules for them.

"First I don't want any of you going into her room, not before you ask me and never without knocking first. And second, Miss Peregrine is still injured and weak, she needs all the rest she can get, so we have to be very quiet and we need to help her with a lot, do you understand?"

After the children have agreed, Ethan goes to get Alma so she can spend the afternoon on the couch in the living room.

Everyone enjoys her being around again and they sit down with her, talking or showing her something.

As it's time for dinner, Ethan helps Alma into her wheelchair and she joins them at the table.

For Alma it is really hard to see all the others working as she just watches. It was like this as they prepared dinner and it's not less hard as they all clear the table and she just sits there. Of course Ethan as well as Emma and the others tell her that it's alright and that she should just rest, but she still feels terribly guilty for not doing anything.

After dinner, Ethan brings Alma first into the bathroom and then helps her into bed. The first day at home has already made her really tired and after Ethan has given her some pain killers for the night, she quickly falls asleep.

The children watch another movie with Ethan and go to bed as well, before Ethan cleans up the living room.

As he enters Alma's room 2 hours later, he notices that there's still light. Apparently, she has left on a small lamp for him, as she's already asleep.

As quietly as possible, he walks over to the couch and gets ready for bed himself. But then he notices Alma moving in her bed. Turning around he sees that she's tossing and turning. She must have a pretty realistic dream, he guesses and hurries to get ready, so he can turn off the light, maybe then Alma will calm down again as well.

But as he puts on his pajamas, he hears her moaning, which soon turns into incomprehensible words. Concentrating on her, Ethan's finally able to understand parts of it. It seems that she's calling her children, but not in a normal way, she seems to be in panic.

"No, not them! Please don't hurt them!"

Carefully, Ethan approaches her and sees that her face is covered in sweat. She must have a pretty bad nightmare, Ethan concludes and sits down on the bed next to her. Gently, he strokes her head and starts talking to her, to calm her down.

But it doesn't help and Alma even starts thrashing around.

"No, please. Take me instead," she screams.

Slowly, Ethan climbs into the bed next to her, taking her in his arms.

As Alma begins to fight him, he takes both her arms in his hands and presses her closer against his chest.

"Shh, it's alright, I'm here," he tries to calm her down.

After a couple of moments fighting him, Alma finally awakes with a start. In shock and panting heavily, she looks around.

"Hey, it's alright," Ethan says," I'm here now. It was just a bad dream, It's over now."

"It's never over," Alma sobs as she begins to cry in his arms. Normally she wouldn't admit something like that, she would just play it down, but she's still half asleep and not thinking clearly, still haunted by the events of her dream.

Ethan hugs her tighter, stroking her head and whispering comforting nonsense in her ear.

"I'm here, nothing is going to happen to you and your children."

Finally he seems to understand, why she's got problems sleeping. He has never considered, that the responsibility for so many children is simply too much for one woman. He would never have thought that she's so fragile as she appears so strong most of the time. But in her sleep all the fear and worry seem to catch up with her.

For some time, both of them stay like this, Ethan hugging and caressing Alma, showing her that she's not alone. And soon it seems to work and Alma relaxes in his arms, slowly falling asleep again.

Not daring to move, in case she falls back into her previous state and enjoying being close to her himself, Ethan stays in Alma's bed for the night. And indeed it works and Alma sleeps peacefully until the alarm goes off the next morning.

Surprised, Alma realises that Ethan has slept next to her the whole night.

"Keep sleeping," he says to her as he gets out of bed to get ready for the day. Gladly, Alma closes her eyes again, but as she wants to fall asleep once more, she already misses Ethan next to her. Thinking about last night and how he ended up in her bed in the first place, slowly her memories of last night come back. Ashamed to have shown Ethan this side of her, Alma already fears him talking about it to her later.

But Ethan doesn't. After the children have left for school and Alma has woken up again, they eat breakfast together. Ethan has thought about her the entire morning. He really wants to help her but he has got no idea how. This problem seems to be deep down in her mind and as he's pretty sure that Alma wouldn't appreciate him suggesting to see a psychiatrist, he decides to just let her know that he's always there for her and her children.

Alma is grateful for that and just kisses him to show him that she knows.

The following days pass by in no time. But the initial joy of Miss Peregrine being back home, quickly changes into frustration.

Alma has to realize every day anew, how many things she still can't do on her own. For her it's extremely difficult to stay in her bed, as the doctor had advised, while all the others are doing her work or when she hears some of her children arguing next door. Often and especially when Ethan is busy with something else, she just can't sit and watch anymore, and helps them with some work. But she always feels it in the evenings, as her leg is more painful, when she has done more than she should have.

And also in the bathroom it's a lot more difficult than in the hospital. Using this shower is definitely out of the question, so Ethan lifts Alma into the bathtub, where she can place her leg on the edge while she's washing herself, before Ethan gets her out again.

Furthermore it's really difficult to use the wheelchair in the house, as it hasn't been build to be handicapped-accessible.

Alma hasn't thought about it before, but all these little things make her realize that staying in a hospital after such an injury really isn't as unnecessary as she thought.

Ethan has taken leave and arranged a locum doctor for the first weeks, to be able to take care of Alma the whole day. He's still helping Emma and Olive with the housework, helps Alma with everything she needs and particularly takes care that she doesn't overdo it. Every time, he sees her doing something she shouldn't or when he checks her leg in the evening and notices the increased swelling he tells her off.

The only positive thing for Alma is, that she can spend more time with Ethan, who distracts her, so she doesn't have so much time to think anymore. In the mornings, after Ethan has prepared the breakfast for the children and driven them to their school, he returns and does some housework. When Alma gets up too, they eat breakfast together and spend the morning on the couch. Just enjoying their time together before they go to pick up the little ones again. They use this duty for taking a walk and getting some fresh air, Ethan pushing Alma in her wheelchair . At the same time, Ethan tries to let the twins and Claire lead the way back home, so that they could do it on their own and get more independent.

But also for the children it isn't as simple as they first thought. Most of them have been really happy to have their ymbryne back, but she isn't - not really. Most of the time, Ethan makes her stay in bed and doesn't let any of them bother her.

For the small ones it's the worst as they really miss her reading to them and tucking them in in the evenings. They exactly know that Alma is next-door but she still can't come to their beds.

Only sometimes can they spend time with her on the couch. But usually they would just notice her presence by her commands. Since Alma came back, Ethan has become as strict as her, always executing her decisions and not being able to make any exceptions anymore. Some of the children even feel that she takes her frustration out on them. Of course, she has always been so strict but as long as she was around seeing her children and knowing exactly how they feel, she had been more tolerable then now.

That's why one day, Alma has a massive fight with Hugh. He has been invited to a birthday party of a girl he kind of fancies, but didn't know how to ask for the permission to go there, as Miss Peregrine still wouldn't let them go to parties. He tried to talk to his ymbryne for a couple of times, but didn't get the chance. When Alma isn't in her room, she's always surrounded by all the children or spending time with Ethan. One day, as there isn't much time anymore until the party, Hugh sneaks through the corridor, while the others are in the living room and Miss Peregrine alone in her room.

Carefully knocking at her door, he just wishes that Ethan won't catch him. Luckily, Miss Peregrine is awake and quickly calls him in. Seeing Hugh's hesitation, Alma encourages him to speak up and so he does. But as soon as he has expressed his wish, Alma already shakes her head. She says, she's sorry, she would like to let him go but she still isn't over the betrayal of confidence and therefore she just can't allow it, besides he's still too young to go to parties anyway.

That's when Hugh gets angry and storms out of her room. He shouts at her, that she's the worst ymbryne ever, not knowing what's going on in the lives of her children, always staying in her room or talking to Ethan instead of them. He's just so disappointed and doesn't know what to do, as the girl surely won't believe that he's simply not allowed to come.

Hearing this, really hurts Alma and she desperately wants to go after her boy, make him understand her decision and maybe even listen to his reasoning. Even despite her leg she tries to stand up and manages to limp towards the door, but of course Hugh is long gone. Only Ethan, who has heard their fight comes running towards her, shouting at her for being so irresponsible and immediately carrying her back to her bed, before going after Hugh.

Even if Ethan is really angry at Hugh that he treated Alma like that and disobeyed him and went to her in the first place, he approaches him carefully. He wants to know what this was all about and he wants to understand him, not starting another fight between them as well. After letting Hugh speak, Ethan really understands him, especially because he had been in a position like that too as he was younger. But at the same time, Ethan makes him see that he acted really immature and unfair towards Miss Peregrine. Ethan explains, how Alma must feel and that it's not easy for her at the moment. After their conversation, Hugh already regrets his words and understands that despite everything, his ymbryne just wants the best for him, even if she can't show it at the moment like she has before. Before Ethan lets Hugh towards her to apologize, he goes check on her alone.

After he left her, Alma has started crying, this is all getting too much and she desperately wants it to be like before her accident again. Ethan asks about her leg and then comforts her, explaining, why Hugh acted the way he did but at the same time assuring her, that it wasn't her fault and that she didn't do anything wrong. In the end, Hugh and Alma make up and Alma hugs her boy but she still feels guilty for not being there for her children.

With time though, Alma gets slowly better. After another two weeks, in which Alma had to go to the hospital every 3 days, they finally tell her that her bones have healed enough to start the physiotherapy. From then on, she gets better every day. Every two days the physiotherapist comes by, massages Alma's leg and does exercises with her. And soon Alma is allowed to replace her wheelchair with a pair of crutches.

And that is a really big step in her recovery, as she gets more mobile and can do a lot of things on her own again. As she's not in need of so much help anymore and the little ones have learned to walk to school and back home alone, Ethan is finally able to work again or drives home from time to time to check if everything is in order.

Alma is still handicapped, not being able to carry things, needing to keep her leg elevated all the time and sometimes still struggling with the pain but all in all, their daily routine slowly returns and life gets more pleasant again.

But with all the sorrow, this accident caused them, it had to be good for something. The children have gotten more independent and Alma had to learn to accept help. The best thing, though, was that it finally brought Alma and Ethan closer together.


	16. Chapter 8 Part I

**Chapter 8**

 **Part I**

During the next weeks, the life for Miss Peregrine and her children gets more normal as Miss Peregrine is finally able to manage the household on her own again. She still has to do the physiotherapy, but only after a few appointments, she got a new cast that allows her to move more freely and in the future will even enable her to walk a little bit until it will get off completely.

Therefore Ethan has eventually moved back into his house as well. He has to catch up on his work and needs to do the planning for his birthday party. He still visits Alma, though, coming by at least once a week and on the weekends.

Alma still likes spending time with him and enjoys every minute of it. But after her total dependence on him for so many weeks, she just needs some distance. She has always been on her own, never needing the help of anyone and the last few weeks she just hasn't been herself, not the strong independent woman she is used to be. Nonetheless, Alma enjoyed having a strong man next to her as well, being taken care of, letting go of everything, handing over the responsibility for once.

And Ethan really makes her happy. When he visits her after a hard day, her tiredness fades immediately and they have fun together.

As the pain in Alma's leg gets better and she doesn't need to take pain killers any more, Ethan stands in front of her door in the evening with a bottle of wine in his hand.

"We need to celebrate this," he says, as she lets him enter. After Alma has gotten some glasses, they sit down on the couches, drinking, talking, but mostly laughing. Ethan has wanted Alma to play something on the piano but as the children were already asleep, they had agreed to let others do the music and Alma turned on some quiet music .

So now they are lying on the couch, snuggled together, listening to a CD with classical music. As a new song begins, Alma gets back into a sitting position.

"I love this song. Do you know what I would like to do at the moment?" she asks smirking. Not knowing what she wants to say, Ethan just arches his eyebrows expectantly.

"I'd really love to dance to this," Alma laughs. "It has always been my favourite one on this CD and never had I someone to dance with when I heard it. Unfortunately it's still not possible," she explains a little bit disappointed.

"Why?" Ethan asks, standing up in front of her.

"Because of this?!" Alma answers, pointing at her leg.

"That shouldn't keep you from doing what you like anymore," Ethan laughs and moves to pull Alma up to her feet, or at least to one foot.

Laughing as well, she lets him lift her up in his arms, placing her good foot on his left one. Then Ethan begins to swirl her around to the music. Holding on tight to him but giggling all the way through Alma enjoys this song like never before.

As the song slowly fades out, Ethan lets her down on the couch again and lies next to her. Still out of breath, they both take back their glasses to finish them, before Ethan has to go again and Alma goes to sleep.

During the week before Ethan's birthday Alma and the children have a lot to do. Despite their daily duties, school and their hobbies, they prepare everything for the weekend. After a long time of thinking about what to get him, they finally agreed on making a picture wall. They have built a big frame consisting of multiple small picture frames in different sizes, which all contain pictures of the time, Ethan lived with them. As they have finished with it, it is already two days before Ethan's party.

Alma has offered Ethan to help him with all the preparations, but he declined. After living with them, he knows exactly, how much she has to do already, so she shouldn't do more, especially not in her still stricken state.

But nonetheless, there's a lot to do, as he has invited all his friends, colleagues and some of his family. Some of them, who come from further away, especially his family, are sleeping in his house, so he has to prepare the guest rooms as well. Then there's the shopping. He wants to do a barbecue, so he has to buy lots of meat, bread and all kinds of beverages. Of course there will be alcohol, but as he has promised, he will strictly keep it away from Alma's children. All the salads and even some dessert as well as a big birthday cake, Ethan will order from a catering service. Furthermore he prepares his garden, most of the works, he lets do from a gardener, but building up tents, tables and chairs, he does on his own.

On Ethan's birthday, which is luckily a Saturday, all the children are excited and Miss Peregrine is busy calming them all down until the afternoon. The party will begin at 5 o'clock and until then, Alma gets all of them ready. She chooses the clothes for the younger ones, casual but still proper and tells the others to dress appropriately as well before she leaves to get ready herself.

In front of the mirror, she chooses her newest dress, the one she had bought together with Olive. It's a bit longer than knee-length and white, with some beautiful red and orange flowers on it. As it doesn't have long sleeves, she takes a dark green scarf around her shoulders. Observing her reflection in the mirror, she grins. Undoubtedly, it looks pretty, but together with the cast it is a hilarious sight.

Afterwards, she puts some make-up on and does her hair. Alma wants to just put it into a bun, as it's simple and still decent looking. But as she knows how Ethan loves her loose hair, she just pins up some strands.

As they are all ready, Jake and Enoch load the photo wall into the car.

The others stand in front of the front door, watching them. All of them have chosen beautiful clothes, the girls wear dresses and the boys some shorts and shirts. Olive has even taken off her gloves, as they don't look good with her pretty green dress.

Lately she has thought a lot about going out without her gloves. She's sure that she can learn to control her peculiarity if she just practices long and hard enough but so far it hasn't worked as good as she hoped . It has worked sometimes, when she really concentrated on it and mostly when the things she touched were quite wet or cold, like for example vegetables or metal.

Until now, she has kept it to herself, though, and only tried it when she was alone. It's supposed to be a surprise for Enoch. As they are currently intensifying their relationship, she thought it would be great to be able to touch Enoch with her bare hands and not with the cold, rubbery gloves. She would really love to feel his skin under her touch.

And today it was a perfect occasion to try and show it in public. But just in case, Olive has stowed the gloves into her small handbag, for when she would need them

When Jake and Enoch are ready, all the little ones get into the car. As there's not enough space for all of them, the older ones take the bus, while Jake drives the younger ones and Miss Peregrine to Ethan's house.

While the others need more time with the bus, Alma and Jake are stopping by a shop to get a big bunch of flowers for Ethan. The little ones have drawn some pictures and they have agreed that the four oldest will hand over the photo wall, so Alma wants to have at least some flowers in her hand.

While she and Jake are choosing the flowers, Olive, Enoch, Emma, Millard and Horace are already sitting in the bus, that will stop near Ethan's house.

So far, everything went alright. Emma didn't need to buy any tickets, as their school tickets are valid in the normal busses on the weekends as well. Luckily, the bus was nearly empty so they all found a seat easily. While Emma is sitting alone and Millard and Horace together, Enoch is sitting next to Olive. Until now, she only had to touch the seats and handles in the bus, which haven't started to burn.

While the others talk during the ride, Olive still concentrates on her hands, which lie on her lap, but finds that it gets more easy every minute. And soon she joins the conversation of the others, who are talking excitedly about Ethan's party and the other guests.

"Do you think, there will be other children?" Millard asks. "I guess so," Emma replies. "I think he said something about his sisters coming and they have some children. Don't you remember the pictures in his living room?" Emma reminds Millard.

"And I hope there will be a lot of great food," Enoch says. " Hopefully he has ordered something, as he is always saying that he's not good at cooking."

The others start to laugh. "I bet he has," Olive assures Enoch. "And I'm pretty sure, that he's better at barbecuing. That's something all the men are good at." "I hope so," Enoch laughs.

"Speaking of barbecue," Emma cuts in," we're not there yet, why is it already smelling like something's smouldering?" As the others notice it as well, they look around to search for the source, but they can't see anything and the other passengers don't seem to notice it.

Suddenly, as the smell gets worse, Enoch looks down at Olive, where small clouds of smoke are beginning to form.

"Oh my god, Olive! What are you doing?" he exclaims, trying to be as quiet as possible, because of the other people. Shocked, he wants to push Olive's hand away from her dress, but yelps as he burns his hand in the process.

Olive, who has been distracted by their conversation and by looking at her Enoch, wakes up from her reverie with a start. Immediately, she looks at her hands and gets control about them again.

"I'm so sorry, Enoch," she tries to apologize, but he doesn't listen, still inspecting his hand, which luckily didn't get too burned, it just stings a bit.

"What were you thinking, Olive? Are you stupid? Where are your gloves?" he criticizes.

Hurt by his angry tone, Olive looks down at her lap. As if this wasn't bad enough, she has to notice that her dress has now a black handprint, where she has placed her hand. Now her dress is ruined as well. How is she supposed to hide it at the party?

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen," she answers quietly, trying hard to stop the tears from falling.

Emma, who has only watched them arguing until now, takes Enoch's hand.

"It's not too bad, Enoch, so stop whining. And nothing else has happened, so no need to argue," she ends the discussion. She can imagine how Olive feels and why she didn't wear her gloves.

"But I think it's best if you put the gloves back on for now, Olive," she tries to convince her. "Maybe later you can try without them again, when you're not so distracted," she offers, smiling at Olive, who nods silently, but still looks at her lap. At the moment no one can see the burned spot, because she has positioned her handbag on top of it. If she's lucky, she will be able to hide it like this the whole afternoon.

The rest of their drive, the children spend in silence. Enoch is still angry, Olive still intimidated and the others don't know what to say.

Arriving at Ethan's house, Miss Peregrine and the children get out of the car, while their older siblings are already walking up the street leading to them.

In the garden, all the other guests are already there, sitting at the few tables or standing, talking to each other and drinking some champagne. The garden was decorated with some flowers and lots of lights, on the ground, leading the way to the house and even in the trees. _This will look really pretty, when it gets darker_ , Alma thinks, admiring Ethan's sense of beauty.

Ethan has already seen them on the driveway, so he makes his way over to greet them. As all the younger ones are congratulating him and presenting their pictures, the older five join them. No one notices the tense atmosphere that surrounds them, or Olive hiding the dark spot on her dress with her hands and handbag.

After Alma has kissed Ethan and given him the flowers, they present their big photo wall together. Ethan is speechless with joy, just beaming at them.

"I have never gotten anything like this," he says as he has found the words again. "I will find a very special place for this!"

Then he leads them over to where the party takes place. The six older ones already know his house and garden, but Alma and the little ones, as well as Horace, see it for the first time. Looking around, they are amazed by all the space in the garden, the plants and especially the beautiful house, which can be nearly called a mansion. It reminds them a little bit of their old home in Wales, but it's a lot more modern.

As they approach all the other guests Ethan explains who they all are. Most of them are friends and colleagues. From a distance, Alma recognizes the two friendly women, who work in Ethan's doctors office, but the others are all new to her. As Ethan points at his sisters and his brother and explains, that most of the children that are running around the garden are his nephews and nieces, he tells the children that they can join them on the table in the tent on the right side. It's where all the children sit.

"Don't worry, there are also some teenagers," he encourages even the older ones and together they all walk over to the table, greeting the other guests on their way.

Alma, who's left with Ethan, is suddenly feeling quite out of place. All these people know Ethan for a long time, if not his whole life and she has just met him and has never even been here at his house before.

But Ethan quickly distracts her, as he places his hand on her back and slowly leads her over to the tables for the adults, as she's still not so quick with her crutches. Especially walking on the bumpy lawn is a real challenge for Alma.

On their way, they pass a couple of guests, which Ethan introduces to her. Then they stop in front of the tables, where Ethan introduces Alma to the rest, also saying that the twelve new arrived children belong to her as well.

Most of the guests greet her very friendly, admiring her caring for all the children. And especially Ethan's mother Olivia welcomes her, immediately embracing her in a hug. Secretly, Alma wonders, what Ethan has told his family about her, but quickly stops thinking about it, as Ethan pushes her forward to the last table, where only a few other women are talking to each other.

"These are my younger sisters Layla and Mary," Ethan introduces them, pointing at the two on the right side of the table, which wave at Alma smiling.

"And this is Catherine Stewart, an old friend of mine. She's the gynaecologist, I told you about. Do you remember?" Ethan asks. Alma nods and shakes the woman's hand."I do. It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Stewart," Alma says smiling.

"Please call me Catherine," she tells Alma, while shaking her hand and Alma gladly accepts. "I'm Alma."

"We went to med school together and she has just recently moved here and opened her doctor's office. So she's new in town as well, I'm pretty sure you will get along well. Why don't you sit here with her," Ethan suggests. "Gladly," Alma replies and sits down next to the dark haired woman, Ethan holding the crutches for her.

"I'll put them here, if you'll need them," he says, leaning the crutches against the wall of the tent behind Alma and then gets another stool for her to lay her leg on.

"I'm sorry, but I will be busy with the barbecue and serving the other guests for most of the time, so I hope it's alright, if I leave you here with these lovely girls," Ethan explains.

"That's more than fine," Alma assures him. "But let me know if I can help you with something," she offers.

"No way! You're my guest and besides, you should rest your leg, I bet you didn't do much of that since I moved back here," Ethan reminds her.

"Yes, yes," Alma says annoyed but still smiling.

"What happened?" Catherine asks her curious.

"Ah, just a stupid accidents, I fell from a ladder, while I was replacing a light bulb - the typical home-related accident," Alma explains laughing while Ethan is already turning to go.

"And don't believe everything, my sisters say," he warns, looking over his shoulder, winking at her.

"I'll do my best," Alma laughs, already curious about the childhood stories his sisters will have about him.

And Ethan has barely left, when Alma and Catherine are already talking enthusiastically. Ethan just hopes, that his sisters will at least keep the most embarrassing stories to themselves.

Like this, the time passes by quickly. Ethan is busy with the barbecue, Alma is still talking to Catherine as Ethan's sisters have already gone elsewhere and the children run around the garden, playing with all the others.

The boys are already playing football again. The twins, as well as Millard and Hugh have joined some other boys. There's Max, who is Layla's son and 13, and a few other boys, who belong to colleagues of Ethan.

Claire and Bronwyn are playing with 6-year-old Chloe, also Layla's child, and Mary's daughter Florence, who is 5. They have brought their dolls with them and let Clare and Bronwyn join them.

Fiona is running around the garden, playing hide and seek with Michelle, Mary's 10 year-old daughter, and Lara, who is the child of Ethan's brother Elliott.

The older children are still sitting at the table, Ethan has shown to them. They are in a deep conversation with some other teenagers. Two of them were Ethan's nephews as well, Tom and Alex, the sons of Mary and Elliott. With them were some other teenage girls, form other guests.

Some of them, they even know from school or have at least seen them there. Together they are talking about all the topics, teenagers would talk about: how boring school is, about girls and boys, parties as well as musicians, actors or sports stars.

Distracted by all that, no one notices Olive's bad mood. After the incident in the bus, she has put her gloves back on, but is still disappointed, that her first public attempt ended so disastrous and embarrassing.

Besides, she's still too disappointed by Enoch's reaction. How can he snap at her like that and call her stupid? She would have never thought, that he does something like that to her. Of course, he has always been difficult, but since they got together, he has changed and can be so sweet to her. But not today and that hurt Olive. Doesn't he see that he's doing this for him?

Suddenly, Olive's thoughts are interrupted by a change in the atmosphere. A few of the other girls got the idea, that they could manage to steal some of the alcohol, the adults are drinking, to have a little more fun themselves. But luckily, Emma and Jake can convince them, that it is a no-go for them and that they are still suffering from the consequences of their last time. Instead they decide on playing truth or dare together, which soon creates an amusing atmosphere. Only Olive still keeps some distance, not really taking part in their game. The only one, who notices something, is Emma but she decides to postpone their talk. Maybe, Olive will recover on her own until then.

Meanwhile, Ethan is busy with serving all the guests while taking care of the meat at the same time. Sometimes, a few sausages get burned or fall through the grillage into the fire but the majority looks really tasty.

A few times, Ethan would check on Alma, who is still talking to Catherine. He is relieved that they get on so well. He was a bit scared for both of them, as they don't know anyone else, but luckily, there was no need for that.

At the moment, Catherine is telling the story, how she got here.

"Before, I was living in Boston, where Ethan and I went to Medical school together. I was still working in the hospital and was living together with my partner in a small apartment near the hospital," she explains to Alma.

"But that doesn't sound too bad," Alma points out."Why did you leave all that behind?"

"It wasn't, I guess. But you know how it goes," Catherine continues. "He was a doctor as well, a surgeon. We were always working double shifts, rarely at home and when we were, we were too exhausted to have a life together. I don't really blame him, I guess, it couldn't have gone on like that forever." She stops, deep in thoughts about her past.

"What happened?" Alma asks carefully.

"One night, I caught him in the act in our bedroom, as he thought I had a night shift. With a nurse from his ward," Catherine explains with a forced smile, trying to laugh about this stereotyped story.

"Ouch," was all Alma could answer. She felt genuinely sorry for this woman, but didn't know what to say to her, to make her feel better. She has never been in a relationship, at least not really.

This thing she had with another boy in Miss Avocet's loop, before she left to found her own loop, was hardly worth mentioning. They had a nice time together, trying out everything young lovers would do, but it couldn't be called a relationship. But that wasn't what both of them had looked for at the time. Alma had just be in a hurry to experience as much as possible before leaving to live alone with her own children for the rest of her life. Never would she have thought, that she would live among normals again and find a man, who's interested in her. But who knows, how long that will last. A woman like her, is just not meant to have such a life, and soon enough, Ethan and her will have to realize that.

"He's an ass. And it's better like that," Catherine concludes and wants to drink a toast to strong independent women, ripping Alma out of her thoughts.

Quickly recovering, Alma lifts her glass and they clink their glasses.

"And why did you move here?" Alma wants to know more.

"I was sure, that I wanted to start a new life, somewhere else, maybe even with a new job," Catherine explains. " And as I was talking about it to Ethan on the phone, he mentioned that there was a gynaecologist, who was about to close his office and was searching for a replacement."

"What a great coincidence," Alma remarks.

"Yes, definitely! I didn't have to think twice. It was perfect. More freedom, no shift duty and a whole different place, far away from my ex," Catherine laughs. "I couldn't have worked another day in the hospital, seeing the two of them together and as Ethan knew the gynaecologist quite well, it was sure that I would get the job."

"That's great," Alma says. "When was that?"

"It was half a year ago and now I'm as happy as ever before, it's just great here. How long have you been here? Ethan mentioned, you have moved here recently too?" Catherine asks.

"Yes, me and the children moved here last winter and you're right, it's a great place. We're really happy here as well," Alma tells her.

"And how did you meet Ethan?" Catherine asks smirking.

"Why are you looking like that," Alma asks confused.

"Don't know," Catherine winks at her. "So?"

"We met in his office, as one of my girls got sick. He was really friendly and attentive, offering to examine all of my children at home, in case they have gotten sick as well," Alma explains.

"Really?" Catherine asks, trying hard to prevent a laughing fit.

"Yes, why?" Alma asks now even more confused.

"Just because that's not common at all in the business and to be honest, it's not really like Ethan," Catherine explains still laughing. "Then it must have been love at first sight for him," she adds now serious again.

Alma can't help blushing a bit again. _Love._ She has never thought about it like that, but she has to admit that it's the right word for what she feels, too. And she has to admit, that she felt drawn to Ethan since their first meeting as well.

But suddenly, her thoughts are interrupted again.

"Speaking of the devil!" Catherine laughs as Ethan approaches them, three plates with some meat in his hands.

Alma quickly looks down at the table, hiding her blush, drinking from her glass and Catherine has to laugh even more.

"Are my two favourite ladies of the day hungry?" Ethan asks, holding out the plates, which both of them accept gladly.

"The salads and everything else are over there on the big table," Ethan explains. " I didn't know what you would like."

"Thank you, it's fine like this," Catherine assures him and Alma nods as well.

"Shall I go with you," Ethan offers, knowing that Alma won't be able to carry the plate, while walking with her crutches.

"That would be great, but don't you have enough to do already," Alma points out.

"I'm having a break, your boys are taking over for me, while I can eat with you," Ethan explains, already taking Alma's plate and handing her the crutches.

"I hope that will end well," Alma laughs, standing up. "Hopefully, you instructed them well enough."

"I'm sure, they'll manage," Ethan replies and together they walk over to the buffet, Ethan filling his and Alma's plate with the things she chooses.

Afterwards, the three of them sit down and eat together, Ethan and Catherine telling Alma stories from their time at the Medical school.

Meanwhile, all the children are sitting at the table together. In the middle of the table are three plates with meat and sausages, that Ethan has brought them. Emma and Olive have helped the little ones at the buffet and are now back at their table, while Enoch and Jake are standing at the barbecue grill next to them.

Unfortunately, Olive is still not in a better mood, so Emma decides to talk to her as soon as they both have finished eating. Earlier, during their game Olive and Enoch had another argument. Enoch chose dare and Jake, who didn't know about the incident in the bus, dared him to tongue kiss Olive in front of them all. Enoch, who wasn't angry at Olive and had already forgotten about before, wanted to accept it. But the last thing he expected was Olive telling him to forget it, before she stood up to check on the younger children. As she returned, Enoch has already gone to help Ethan, but Olive hasn't said a word since, silently eating her food.

Emma can see exactly how all this has hurt and disappointed Olive. It takes a lot to push Olive this far, normally she doesn't let her emotions show. Probably, it's because the first thing, Miss Peregrine wanted young Olive to learn was to control her emotions as they were directly linked to her peculiarity. It took some time, but in the end nothing started to burn, when Olive was sad or happy anymore. A not so desired side effect was that Olive got quite reserved, though.

While all the younger children are laughing and talking as they are eating, Emma already thinks about what to say to Olive later.

Meanwhile the boys are standing 2 metres away at the grill, serving the other guests.

"What was that earlier?" Jake asks curious. "Are you and Olive having a fight?"

Enoch shrugs, as he is just giving a sausage to a woman with a little boy on her arm.

"I have got no idea, what's wrong with Olive," he says confused. "This morning, everything was fine and now she's like this".

"Are you going to talk to her?" Jake wants to know.

"No idea...You saw how she reacted, I don't think she would talk to me at the moment either," Enoch guesses.

"And you really have no idea, why she's like this?" Jake keeps asking. He's not the man, who knows how to read women either, but from his experience, there is always something bothering them, when they react like this. And he could always sort things out when he talked to Emma and listened to what she had to say.

"Maybe, it's because of what happened in the bus earlier, but that was nothing. It didn't even have something to do with the two of us," Enoch says.

"What happened?"

"She wasn't wearing her gloves, who knows why, and then her dress started burning. I asked why she would risk so much in public and told her to put them on again. That's all."

After that, Jake's expression softens in realization, but he doesn't get the chance to enlighten Enoch, as some of the kids at the table next to them started shouting. Quickly they turn their heads to look in that direction, but everything goes incredibly fast.

Some of the little ones have started a game while eating, which forced them to move on their seats. The twins and Claire, which are sitting in between Emma and Olive, have leaped up quickly, wanting to climb under the table. This made the tablecloth shift under their plates and glasses and before Emma could react, two of the glasses fell over, their content spilling onto the table towards Olive. Soon the lemonade and whatever was in the second glass, have drenched the tablecloth and are dripping onto Olive's lap.

And this was the last straw. This day has been bad enough until now. First the accident in the bus, which has already ruined her dress, then Enoch's offence and the way he behaved as nothing had happened afterwards and now this. Her dress is now completely covered with sticky red and pink liquid, which she has no chance of hiding.

From the shock of the quick events and because of her anger as she slowly comes to realize what's happening, Olive jumps to her feet, yelling and supporting herself on the edge of the table. And that's when it happens, the tablecloth under her hands, starts smoking and slowly catches fire.

Still distracted from the accident with the glasses and Olive's outburst, none of the other children notices the tiny clouds of smoke at first. And that's their chance. Quickly but still discreetly, Enoch nudges one leg of the grill with his foot, so that it starts tumbling towards the table. There's still enough space, so that it won't hurt any of them, but it attracts the attention of all the guests and at the same time disguises the burn on the tablecloth.

Screaming in panic, all the children jump off their seats and all the other guests come running towards them, all the mothers embracing their scared children in a hug.

Ethan quickly reaches the place with the grill, and together with Enoch and Jake he can manage to put the grill upright again and fix the broken leg, after putting on the gloves and only touching the parts, that weren't too hot.

The burning coals on the grass are quickly extinguished as well, as Ethan tramples out the flames. Some of them have even rolled under the table, but they have stopped burning on their own, so the boys kick them all to one place with their feet. And also the children are already recovering from the shock and sit back on their seats, their parents taking some deep breaths as they realize that nothing serious has happened.

Before anyone could notice the burning table cloth, Emma has beaten it out with her napkin, while Olive was so upset, that she ran across the lawn towards the house, which doesn't seem to notice anyone except for Emma, the boys and Miss Peregrine.

Alma, who has seen the whole situation from her seat, after the children have started screaming, has immediately noticed the look on Olive's face and followed her gaze towards her hands and the smoking table cloth. Alarmed she stood up as quickly as possible and tried to follow Ethan with her crutches. She knew exactly, what must have happened and was amazed by the swift reaction of her boy, which luckily didn't hurt anyone and disguised Olive's accident brilliantly. But Alma had no idea, what caused Olive's reaction, she hasn't had a slip-up like that for a few decades now. Confused and worried, Alma wants to talk to her and calm her down, but as she finally reaches the children's table, Olive has already stormed away.

As everything gets more relaxed again, Ethan seems to notice her as well. Alarmed, he turns towards Alma, who just wanted to follow Olive after briefly talking to Emma.

"Has anything happened to her? Is she hurt?" Ethan asks concerned.

"No, no, I'm sure, she's alright," Alma reassures him. "But I'm still going to check on her." Nodding to her, Ethan turns back around to reassure his guests that everything is fine again and tells them to continue with whatever they have been doing before. Then he goes back to the grill to take over, allowing the boys to go back to their seats, while assuring them, that they did a great job and that it surely wasn't their fault.


	17. Chapter 8 Part II

**Chapter 8**

 **Part II**

Relieved that no one noticed anything, but worried about Olive, Enoch and Jake sit down next to Emma, immediately asking her about what happened.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine is doing her best to hurry up the small hill towards Ethan's house. It takes a lot of strength and soon her wrists start to hurt. Alma tries to call Olive to make her stop, but she doesn't listen and is entering through the front door.

As Miss Peregrine finally arrives inside as well, she doesn't have to search for long. Olive is sitting on the stairs next to the entrance, her head buried in her hands, crying silently.

Slowly, Miss Peregrine sits down next to her, laying her crutches on the ground, and hugs her girl.

She doesn't want to pressure Olive, so she just waits for her to speak, while rubbing circles on Olive's back. But Olive just sobs harder.

It takes some time until she finally calms down enough to speak.

"I'm sorry," she says but still not looking into her ymbryne's eyes.

"Oh, Olive, you don't need to apologize," Alma tries to comfort her. " Nothing has happened. I'm here because I'm worried about you and I want to know what's wrong?"

"Everything is wrong!" Olive sobs again, so Alma hugs her tighter.

"I'm sure it's not that bad and it always helps to talk about it," she advises.

"Just look at me!" Olive cries. "My whole dress is a mess, I'm a mess."

"Shh, it's just a dress and I'm sure we can clean it again back home," Alma wants to comfort her.

"And what am I supposed to do until then, I can't go out like that and besides, I'm sure that even you can't clean that," Olive says and takes away her hands, so Alma can see the burn mark on Olive's dress.

"Oh, Olive, when did that happen? Was it earlier at the table as well?"

Olive who has placed her head in her hands again shakes her head, still crying.

Now Alma gets even more worried. It seems that it wasn't the only incident today.

"Sh, Olive, it's alright," Alma wants to assure her.

"Don't you want to tell me what's happened?" she asks carefully.

"I can't control it anymore," Olive answers and breaks down into another crying fit.

Alma can't do anything else than hugging her again and wait for her to continue talking but inside she's so impatient and needs to know what's wrong with her girl.

"What makes you say something like that?" she asks as Olive seems to calm down once more.

"Look at me, look at what happened outside. I wanted too much and now I can't control it anymore," Olive cries out.

"What do you mean?" Alma asks now even more confused.

After some deep breaths, Olive finally feels capable of telling her ymbryne the whole story.

"I wanted to learn to control it even without my gloves," Olive sighs. "And it worked, when I really concentrated on it."

"Oh, Olive," Alma exclaims and hugs her again. "Why haven't you talked to me about it earlier?" she asks.

"I don't know, I just wanted to try it out first, in case it doesn't work," Olive shrugs. "Today, was the first time I wanted to try it in public."

"And what happened then?" Alma encourages her to tell her the whole story.

"It worked well for some time but then I got distracted and burned my dress," Olive confesses.

"And then...and then..." Olive starts to sob again, so Miss Peregrine turns and presses Olive's head towards her chest.

"It's alright, Olive. Everything will be fine," she whispers in her ear while stroking her back.

"And then Enoch started yelling at me," Olive manages to say in between sobs.

"Oh my dear," Alma says. "But I'm sure he didn't mean what he said, Olive." But it didn't soothe Olive's disappointment.

"And is that what happened at the table as well?" Alma wants to know next and Olive shakes her head.

"I had already put my gloves back on in the bus," Olive sobs again. "It happened despite my gloves. Now I can't even be normal with them anymore."

"Hey shush, it will be alright," Miss Peregrine comforts her."We will fix that, I promise."

"It's not really uncommon, that your peculiarity gets out of your control when you try to change something. But your body will get used to it and then it will be like before, I promise," Alma assures her. "Don't you remember how it was when we first tried to train you," Alma asks her and Olive nods, now getting back a bit of her optimism.

Carefully, Alma lifts Olive's chin and smiles at her. "But you need to tell me one thing," Alma says. "Why have you decided to change anything in the first place?"

Shyly, Olive lifts her head to look at her ymbryne.

"I just wanted to be normal," Olive confesses but Alma doesn't buy it.

"You haven't cared about that for the last 70 years, not even as you were bullied," Miss Peregrine states. But she doesn't get a direct answer as Catherine Stewart is just opening the door and walks inside, some dirty dishes in her hands

"Oh, am I interrupting something? I'm sorry," she says and disappears into the kitchen.

"Ok, where did we leave off?" Alma asks. "Oh yes, I remember. You wanted to tell me, why you tried to control your peculiarity further," she says, smirking at Olive.

And now even Olive has to smile a little bit. Her ymbryne is simply the best.

"Because of Enoch," she admits awkwardly. "I wanted to be able to touch him without the gloves."

"Oh Olive," Alma says and cups her cheek. "That is really sweet of you."

But suddenly, Olive starts to cry again and Alma has no idea why.

"Hey, hey, Olive, what is it?" she asks puzzled and hugs her again.

And that's when Catherine returns from the kitchen and takes in the sight of Alma comforting her crying girl.

"Oh, what happened ? Is she hurt?" Catherine asks and stops in front of the two.

"No, at least not like you might think," Alma answers with a sad smile.

"Oh, I see. Always the men," she says and sits down next to Alma. "What has he done?"

Suddenly encouraged by another woman, who understands her, Olive continues, but has to be careful what to say.

"Earlier in the bus, he totally freaked out and called me stupid," Olive sobs and leans into Miss Peregrine even more.

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Miss Peregrine says. "But I'm sure he didn't mean it. He loves you!"

"He didn't show it, though," Olive retorts angrily. "And doesn't he realize, that I only did it for him. He is the one, who's stupid!"

"He really is, darling," Catherine cuts in. "Never cry over men, they are not worth it, believe me!" she tries to encourage Olive.

"But I love him," Olive sobs into Miss Peregrine's chest.

"I know," Alma whispers. "And Enoch does, too. But you know how he is, he probably hasn't even noticed, that he hurt you. He just saw the danger and wanted to protect everyone. Maybe you should talk to him and explain why you did it. I'm sure that he will be touched," Alma advises.

"Men who don't realize when they hurt women, are definitely not the ones you should cry over," Catherine argues. "If they don't apologize, there's nothing more to talk about."

"But this is still new to him as well, he needs to learn these things," Alma tries to explain. "And I know Enoch, when he knows how you feel about it all, he will be really sorry."

"You're just biased, because he's your boy too," Catherine retorts laughing and looks at Olive who has lifted her head to see the two women arguing.

"He really can be sweet and caring," Olive explains to this new woman and then looks back at her ymbryne.

"But Miss P., it's just so difficult with him and I don't want to explain the simplest things to him. Isn't it obvious, why I did it? And shouldn't he know me better, if he loves me?" Olive asks desperately.

"Maybe he should but even if he knows you for so long, it's different now. Let him get used to your new relationship and always tell him how you feel. Later he will know on his own, but in the beginning, you should help him," Alma explains.

"But it's new to me too and I know how he feels and would never hurt him like that!" Olive argues.

"But she's right," Catherine cuts in. "With men it's always different, darling. They are not like us and need a bit of help in the beginning, some even longer. But make it very clear, that he never gets away with insulting you again. That's something even men can know," Catherine states and Alma nods.

"Tell him how you felt, when he said these things to you and then tell him why you behaved like that in the first place," Alma says.

"Ok," Olive sighs and wipes the last tears off her face, before looking down at herself.

"And what about my dress? I can't go outside like this," she points out, nearly crying again.

"We will find a way," Catherine offers. "I'm sure, that there are some women's clothes here in the house. I'm going to find Mary, she's approximately your size and will have brought some clothes for the weekend," Catherine says and stands up to go outside.

"Thank you," Olive says, smiling gratefully at her.

"Yes thank you," Alma agrees," but you don't have to. I can do it."

"No, it's fine. You two stay here until I'm back," Catherine assures them. "Besides, I bet I'm in a lot of trouble, if Ethan finds out that I let you walk around more than necessary. You're supposed to rest your leg, as I understood earlier," Catherine laughs and has already walked through the door, before Alma can answer anything.

Instead, she just leans back against the wall, Olive still in her arms, and strokes her girl's arm.

"I can understand you," Alma says after a while of silence. "It must be terrible not to feel his skin when you touch him. I will help you to control your peculiarity. If what you said is true and you managed without the gloves for some time, then I'm sure you can achieve the rest with some practice. But don't try it on your own again, I will always be there to help you, alright?"

Relieved, Olive nods and starts smiling. As it seems, everything will turn out alright. She just have to talk to Enoch and then it will be like before and even better, when she can learn to live without her gloves.

Shortly afterwards, Catherine comes back with Mary, who takes Olive upstairs into the guest room, where her suitcase is. Together they choose another dress, that fits Olive perfectly. As a new and happy girl, she comes back down to her ymbryne and Catherine, who cheer at seeing her smiling and in a beautiful dress.

Together they walk back outside. Olive sits down at the children's table again and finishes her food. Relieved Emma sees her smile again and decides not to ask her, what happened, as she knows that Miss Peregrine must have discussed everything with her.

Luckily, the boys have joined the younger one playing soccer, so Olive doesn't have to answer Enoch's questions. She will talk to him, but later. For now she just wants to have fun and enjoy this party.

As Olive has finished eating, it's already getting dark, which makes the lights in the garden illuminate the trees beautifully.

Ethan and a couple of his friends have started a bonfire and are just arranging some seats around it. Some children are still running around the garden, playing, singing and dancing. The teenagers and some other guests are dancing to the music on a little dance floor.

Also Catherine, who has talked to another friend of Ethan for the last hour, is now dancing with him passionately, which makes Alma laugh silently. Only mere seconds ago, she has told her that it will take a long time until she will talk to another man again, still recovering from her break-up. But Alma is glad, that she's happy and doesn't say anything.

Alma is sitting on a chair near the dance floor, watching the happy couples as well as the singles. Among all the guests, she can see Emma and Jake dancing, embracing each other. They really look cute together, Alma thinks. Next to them are Olive and her other girls jumping about to the music as well. Olive looks much happier now. But obviously, she still hasn't talked to Enoch, which doesn't matter in Alma's eyes, as they still have got so much time.

As Alma turns her head to look around more, she sees Ethan approaching her. Like a real gentleman, he asks her for another dance, which just makes her laugh. But she accepts gladly, as she's in the mood for something funny and silly. Ethan lifts her up again, so she can put her good food on his and together they start whirling around to the music. This time, it doesn't go as well as before, though, because Ethan is already quite tipsy. Therefore they sway more than standing upright. Soon Alma gets too scared to fall to the ground, so she stops him and he carries her back to her seat, sitting down with her on his lap. Still breathless and happy, Alma leans back into him and relaxes in his arms for a while.

After a short time, as the fire gets brighter and the night darker, more guests sit down around it. One of Ethan's friends has started playing the guitar and others are singing to it.

As the fire is somewhere further down the hill, it doesn't get in the way of the dance music.

Drawn to the atmosphere at the fire, Alma and Ethan decide to go there as well.

On the way, Ethan gets another bottle of beer for himself and a glass of red wine for Alma. Then they sit down next to his sisters. After some minutes, Ethan leaves Alma with them again and goes to sit with his friends, who are laughing and drinking a lot. Amused, Alma watches him having fun with them. Of course she's not overly thrilled to see these men drunk. And she has never seen anything like that before, not being used to live with a lot of grown up men, except for some men on their island in Wales, but that was something different.

Here it seems to be something, all the men like to do, when having a party and it's not too excessive but quite fun. And as long as it doesn't get worse, Alma enjoys watching them.

Next to her, Mary and Layla have started talking to Helena, Elliott's wife. Until now, Alma hasn't had the chance to talk to her, as she was always busy helping Ethan with everything and organizing some games for the younger kids. So Alma gladly joins their conversation about all joys and problems of being a mother.

Even if Alma has not one own child, the others always take her as the perfect example, admire her and ask her for advice. Alma gladly answers all their questions and is curious as well about their parenting methods, as she knows exactly, that hers are outdated. Especially, how Layla manages with three children, without a partner and still working, interests Alma as she could never imagine herself working and still caring for her children.

Soon, though, she is distracted by something else, as one of their older children comes and gives Layla her youngest child back. Her 2-years-old son Morton has stayed with his older siblings and cousins but now he has started crying for his mother. Layla takes his son in her arms and he stops crying immediately, looking curiously at his mother and the women around her. Alma is instantly captured by his cuteness and can't stop looking at him. He reminds her of her little Claire as she was so small. She had been the cutest little princess. She still is, but it's not the same and Alma secretly misses these times.

Seeing how Alma reacts on her boy, Layla asks her if she would like to hold him for a while, which Alma happily accepts. As soon as Morton sits on her lap, he starts playing with her long dark curls and laughs, which makes Alma smile at him.

Meanwhile, Elliott and John, Mary's husband, have come to ask their wives for a dance, quickly followed by Ethan who asks his sister, knowing that Alma has had her share of dancing with him for the evening and not wanting his sister to feel left out. Happily Layla jumps to her feet and asks Alma if she would mind taking care of Morton until she returns.

"Of course not!" Alma replies and starts tickling Morton, who starts giggling again. In the meantime, Catherine has abandoned her dance partner and sits down next to Alma.

"Have I missed something?" she jokes and points at the small child in Alma's lap.

"Haha," Alma retorts. "We're still far, far away from that, believe me," she laughs but winces slightly as Morton pulls harder on a strand of her hair.

"We'll see about that," Catherine smirks, but Alma doesn't see her as she carefully frees her hair from his grasp, before brushing it away over her shoulder, where the toddler can't reach it.

Until the others return, Catherine and Alma keep talking, mostly about her relationship with Ethan. Catherine is really enthusiastic about it, as she knows that Ethan has never been this happy with someone else. Alma can't help feeling flattered by this statement, especially because she feels the same. Nonetheless, Alma can't stop herself from teasing Catherine with her new acquaintance from earlier. After some time, in which they laugh and tease each other a lot, Alma realizes, that Morton has fallen asleep in her arms.

"He really is a cutie," Catherine says and Alma just nods, while gently stroking Morton's cheek, feeling his slow and calm breathing against her chest.

And while she just watches this small human being sleeping in her arms, the others return breathlessly and laughing. As they see Alma, they fall quiet immediately. Not that their laughter would wake the sleeping child, when so many other and louder noises around them don't keep him from sleeping, but because they enjoy the sight of the two.

"It suits you," Ethan says and plants a kiss on Alma's forehead before sitting down next to her, on which Alma just smiles at him.

"He's still so small and cute," she marvels, while Ethan strokes her back.

"Are you alright?" Ethan asks after some minutes as he sees her shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "Is it your leg?"

"Nah, it's alright," Alma answers while rocking the baby in her arms but Ethan just arches his eyebrow.

"Ok, ok...I should elevate my leg soon, it's starting to hurt again," she finally admits.

"Come, give him to me," Ethan offers and takes his small nephew into his arms, so Alma can turn around and lay her left leg on the seat next to her. Relieved, she leans back into the left side of Ethan's chest as Morton already occupies the other side. Lovingly, Ethan lays his arm around her and starts stroking her arm.

"You look good like that together," Catherine points out laughing, which makes Ethan and Alma realize again that they are not alone.

"You just go back to your new friend," Alma laughs, sticking out her tongue at Catherine.

"Hey be careful, what you say," Catherine jokes.

"What happened to you two, while I was away," Ethan asks curious, amused by the way these two women are now getting on with each other.

"Nothing, my friend, nothing!" Catherine assures him. "Or don't you want us to get on?"

"Of course I want that," Ethan retorts. "In fact, I'm really happy about it!" he adds and gives Alma another kiss, while both women smile.

"Speaking of getting along," he continues. "Is Olive alright? Or what happened with her earlier?"

"She's fine," Alma answers quickly. "She and Enoch just had an argument, but I'm sure that they will make up again soon."

"That's good to hear. They are really cute together, both your teenage couples are," Ethan says winking at Alma.

"I know," she sighs. "Hopefully they can enjoy it for some time and don't break up too soon."

"I don't think that will happen any time soon," Ethan laughs. "They seemed quite serious to me, when I lived at yours."

That makes Alma sit up rapidly and turn around. "What makes you say that?" she asks suspiciously, looking him into the eyes.

"Nothing," Ethan insists but can't hide his smirk.

"Ethan, Ethan, I trusted you to take good care of them. I hope you didn't let them sleep in the same bed," Alma says, knowing exactly that the teenagers have been wanted that for a long time but she has always been able to prevent that.

"I didn't allow it but I didn't check either," Ethan laughs.

"Oh Ethan," Alma exclaims and hits him with her fist, which makes Morton stir in his sleep.

"Oops, sorry," Alma apologizes quickly.

"Here, let me take him again," Layla offers, suddenly standing in front of them.

Gladly but still looking longingly at the small child, Ethan hands him to his sister.

"I'm bringing him into the house, " Layla explains. "But thank you for taking care of him," she says winking at the couple.

"So, where did we leave off," Alma says as Layla has left.

"There!" Ethan answers and kisses Alma passionately.

"No, no, no," Alma says breaking the kiss. "I wouldn't have expected that from you! What if anything has happened? Leaving teenage couples in love alone is dangerous. If I remember correctly, it was you, who said that they are not allowed to copulate until the girls are through with their vaccinations? Not that I would allow it afterwards, but still: I would never have thought that you were so reckless?" She wants to be serious but fails, as she sees Ethan laughing.

"Oh Alma, let them have their fun. And I think they are sensible enough to think of the consequences and won't do anything unwise," Ethan laughs but ducks quickly as Alma tries to hit him again.

"How can you say that, Ethan? Do you want to be responsible, when anything happens? They are only children themselves," Alma insists.

"I've indeed seen younger girls, who have been pregnant," Catherine joins their argument.

"See?" Ethan laughs. "Maybe you should just talk to them about sex education if you want to prevent something like this. I don't think that keeping them apart will do the trick in the long run. Maybe you should just send them to Catherine. Have you talked about it yet?"

"About what?" Catherine wants to know.

"As Alma and her girls are new in town, they still don't have a gynaecologist and I told them to ask you," Ethan explains to her.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Catherine says. "And if you want, I will talk to them about everything, including risks and contraception," she offers friendly.

"Are you teaming up against me now?" Alma laughs but soon gets serious. "It's very friendly, but I will talk to them myself, besides I think it's still too early. First, there are still the last vaccinations to wait for and second they are still too young for something like that. And giving them all the information will just encourage them in my opinion. But when the time comes, I will talk to you again," Alma ends this discussion and Catherine nods.

"For now you have to make do with just me as a patient," Alma winks at Catherine to lighten the mood again.

"That's fine as well," she answers laughing and takes her handbag to search for something.

"Here, that's the number of my office, you can just call and make an appointment," Catherine explains and hands Alma her card.

"Thank you, I will do that," Alma answers genuinely grateful and then leans back into Ethan, who embraces her tightly.

For a while none of them talk and they just relax, listening to the others laughing and singing and to the crackle of the fire.

Soon more and more guests come and sit down at the fire, drawn to its warmth in this dark and cold night. This includes most of the children as well. The little ones look for their mothers to sit down on their laps, as they are slowly getting tired. So does Claire, who snuggles into Miss Peregrine's arm, followed by the twins, who are exhausted from playing soccer the whole evening. They sit down on the ground, leaning back at Miss Peregrine's good leg, looking into the fire.

On the opposite side of the flames are sitting Emma and Jake. Jake had put his arm around Emma, who has placed her head on his shoulder. Happy both of them enjoy the atmosphere and hum to the song the others are now singing. A few metres away from them sit Olive and Enoch in the semi-darkness under a tree. Not able to take it anymore, Enoch has approached Olive and asked her if they could talk. Glad for the possibility to be alone, she followed him to where they are now.

"Olive," Enoch begins. "I don't know what to say. I'm really worried about you and I don't know what's wrong and why you wouldn't talk to me," he explains desperately.

"You are worried about me?" Olive asks angrily but secretly a bit touched. "It didn't seem like that earlier in the bus," she states.

Confused, Enoch looks her in the eyes and can see her disappointment. "Of course I was!" he answers. "How could I not, you could have burned yourself! "

"You seemed to care more about what the other passengers might think," Olive keeps arguing. Although she felt better after the talk with Miss Peregrine and Catherine Stewart, she's still angry.

"So it's all about that?" Enoch concludes. "I didn't mean to be so harsh, I just was scared that you might hurt yourself."

"You called me stupid!" Olive yells, as she can't keep her anger to herself anymore.

"Oh Olive, I'm really sorry, that I hurt you, but I thought you knew that I didn't mean it like that," Enoch tries to explain.

"So what did you mean then? Is stupid a codeword for something friendly now?" Olive asks sarcastically.

"No, of course not. But you know me, I often say things that I don't mean. It happens in the moment and I talk before I think about it, but it's just because I care for you and the thought of you being hurt is something, that makes me forget everything else," Enoch keeps explaining.

"But if you're insulting me, it's doesn't matter if you just do it out of worry or whatever. It's still an insult!"

"You're right, Olive. I will try to control myself better the next time. But why on earth did you take off your gloves. It could have been really dangerous!" Enoch points out.

"You don't get it, do you?" Olive asks not less angry and stands up to go away. But Enoch quickly jumps up and grabs her by the arm.

"I love you, Olive!" he suddenly admits, which surprises Olive as well. They have never said these words to each other before, at least not really.

"And I'm sorry, if I behaved stupidly, or still am. I want to understand you, I really do, but it's not simple you know..."

"So I'm not only stupid but difficult as well now. This is getting better by the minute," Olive huffs and tries to free herself from Enoch's grasp.

"Oh Olive, I didn't mean it like that, do you have to twist my every word?" Enoch asks, now losing his patience as well. He really tries to understand her but no matter what he says, it seems to be the wrong thing.

"It's important to me, that we understand each other and I will do my best, but can you please help me a little bit here and tell me what it is, that I don't get?" Enoch says desperately.

Olive turns her head to look at him. He can be so sweet sometimes and right now, he looks so helpless and cute in his own way, so that Olive can't help taking pity on him.

"I love you, too, Enoch. But you can't keep hurting me like this," Olive sighs.

"I..." Enoch wants to say but Olive cuts him off.

"No, you wanted me to explain, so you have to listen now. What you said in the bus really hurt my feelings, but you know that now and you have explained why you behaved like that. But what hurt even more, was that you can't understand, why I did it."

Again Enoch wants to say something but doesn't get the chance as Olive gently places her index finger on his lips.

"I'm not ready yet," she says but her voice is much softer than before. "I know that it wasn't my brightest idea to leave off the gloves and especially not without talking to anyone. But I just did it for you," Olive makes a short break, in which Enoch begins to realize everything but doesn't dare saying anything.

"Or for me, to be exact. I wanted to be able to touch you, feel your skin. It's such a big part in a close relationship and I miss that. I don't want to be without that anymore. Do you understand?"

"Of course, I do," Enoch confirms immediately, feeling that it's save to speak again. "And I'm so sorry, that I didn't see that. I guess I was blinded by my worry," he admits and while he stays silent he realizes the whole thing.

"But you shouldn't have tried to change for me. I love you the way you are and I don't care about the gloves. If anything they even turn me on," Enoch laughs and pulls Olive into a hug, which she gladly accepts. Only this one day without Enoch's touch has been terrible.

"If you say so," Olive laughs. "But I still want to feel you properly and you know what? It worked, for a little while I'm capable of touching things without the gloves and Miss Peregrine has offered to help me learn it properly," Olive explains excitedly.

"But that's great!" Enoch exclaims. "I'm sure together you will be successful!"

"I hope so," Olive sighs and leans back into Enoch, who embraces her tighter on which Olive plants a kiss on his cheek.

"Does this mean, that we're good again?" Enoch asks hopefully.

"For now," Olive laughs.

"Listen," Enoch starts again. "I'm so sorry, that I didn't notice it and I will try very hard not to disappoint you again," he promises and kisses Olive on her mouth.

"Apology accepted," she says smiling. For the first time since this afternoon, Olive really feels happy again.

Together the young couple joins the others at the fire. Cuddling, they enjoy the warmth and the sight of the fire and the singing of the others. Even if it slowly changes into brawling as most of the men are getting more drunk.

Relieved, Alma takes in the sight of them and has to smile, slightly nudging Ethan to show him as well. Happily, Ethan strokes Alma's arm, who looks down at Claire. She's sleeping peacefully in her ymbryne's lap and also the twins eyes are more closed than open.

Looking up, Alma sees, that the other mothers have already left to bring their younger children inside.

" I think it's time for us to leave, Ethan," Alma says.

"You're probably right," he agrees. "Your children seem tired and this is turning into something, that's not right for younger ones," he laughs, while slowly sitting upright with Alma in her arms.

While Alma stays seated as not to wake Claire, Ethan stands up to gather her other children. Gently, Alma pats the twins heads to wake them. Sleepily, they stand up and sit down next to her, where most of the others arrive as well.

"How are we going to get home?" Millard asks curious. "I bet there are no more busses at this time."

"You're probably right, Millard," Alma has to admit.

"I could quickly drive you home," Ethan offers as he returns.

"No way," Alma laughs. "You've been drinking the whole evening. We'll have to find another way."

"Should it be necessary, I can drive twice," Jake offers.

"I'd rather not," Alma says and looks around.

"You can always sleep here tonight," Ethan offers again.

"No, no, you've got enough guests already," Alma answers while squeezing his hand.

"I can drive," Catherine suddenly cuts in. "I haven't drunk too much and it's already a few hours ago."

"Are you sure?" Alma asks worried.

"I would never drive, when being drunk, Alma. Never!" she states.

"Alright, that would be great then. And do you want to leave already as well?"

"That's alright. It has been a wonderful evening but I'm tired, too," Catherine explains. "Sorry to leave you, but you've still got so many others here," she adds and winks at Ethan, who smiles and nods.

"But we're still too many, if Mrs. Stewart has a normal sized car," Enoch points out.

"You're right," Alma realizes. " There's one too much."

"You can still stay here tonight," Ethan offers again.

"I wouldn't want to leave my children alone, especially not at night. You know that Ethan," Alma insists, taking Ethan's hand again. "Maybe I can keep Claire on my lap like this," Alma considers. "Just this once, if I can still fasten the seat belt around us."

"That's a possibility," Ethan says. "And I don't think that there will be a lot of police around tonight. But do you think that will be alright with your leg?" he warns.

"I'll manage. As long as you'll carry her to the car and place her on my lap again," Alma says winking at Ethan.

"Will do," he answers and picks the sleeping Claire up. Alma slowly stands up and takes her crutches. Together with Catherine and the other children, she follows Ethan to the parking space.

As all the children are seated in the two cars and Alma has Claire back on her lap, Ethan leans down to kiss her.

"Thank you for coming. I hope, you had an enjoyable evening and that you didn't feel too lonely," He says and cups her cheek after breaking the kiss.

"Not at all! It was really nice and thank you for having us. We've never been to such a great party," Alma answers, looking at Ethan lovingly.

"That's good to hear. Have a save trip home and a good night," Ethan says and kisses her again before closing the door as silent as possible. Then he waves them goodbye as both cars leave the driveway.

At home, Enoch lifts Claire out of the car to bring her to bed as all the children follow. Catherine helps Alma out of the car before wishing her a good night.

"It has been really nice meeting you, Catherine," Alma says.

"Likewise, we should definitely meet again soon," Catherine answers.

"Oh yes, we should. Good night, Catherine," Alma says and then closes the front door, as Catherine drives away.

Inside, Alma urges the children, that are still awake to wash their hands, brush their teeth and change into their pyjamas before bringing their clothes to the laundry room.

"I don't want all your rooms smelling like bonfire in the morning," she insists and goes to change the clothes of her little Claire.

As all the children are sleeping soundly, Alma goes to bed herself. It has been a long day for her as well, even if it was a lovely one. But she feels really tired as well and if she's honest, Alma has to admit, that it was too much for her leg. It's quite swollen and painful again, so she decides to get the cooling-pack out of the kitchen before lying down in her bed.

Relaxed and relieved, she lies back and reflects on their day. Meeting Ethan's friends and family had been a real pleasure and especially Catherine seems to be a great new friend to them as well. Alma is happy that Enoch and Olive have made up and is looking forward to helping Olive with her peculiarity. As Alma's breathing gets more even, she thinks of Ethan and how happy he seemed surrounded by all his loved ones and even drunk he was quite lovely. The last thing, she thinks off, before drifting into a peaceful sleep, is how it felt, laying in Ethan's arms with the small Morton in her arms. And shortly afterwards, Alma sleeps soundly as well, the smile still on her lips.


	18. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Rated M for adult themes.**

In the following weeks, Miss Peregrine and her children enjoy the summer. It's the summer holidays for the children, so they often go to the beach, the public swimming pool or do other trips together, sometimes with Ethan, sometimes just on their own.

Every single one of them greatly enjoys the weather. In their old loop it had been sunny and warm every day but not like here. And especially after the wintertime, they learned to appreciate the sun again.

Only for Alma it's a bit too hot. She still has to wear her cast all the time, as her bones are still healing too slowly. Therefore she can't cool down in the water like her children and the cast gets really uncomfortable when everything is so hot and she's sweating. Most of the time Ethan or her children try to lift her spirits by bringing her some ice cream, while she has to watch them in the water, but it's not the same.

One thing she always looks forward to, are her meetings with Catherine, though. Since Ethan's birthday party, they have seen each other regularly, both enjoying talking to another woman.

One Sunday afternoon, they are sitting in a lovely cafe near the harbour, drinking some iced coffee and talking. Most of the time, they are talking about Alma's children, her relationship with Ethan, Catherine's stories of men or about her work. Alma always loves to hear about the young mothers and their cute babies.

Since Ethan's birthday, some weeks have passed, but Alma still hasn't made an appointment in Catherine's office. She doesn't want to admit it, but she is a little bit scared about the examination. Of course she knows that it is necessary and to be a good role model, she should show her girls, that it's important to go there once a year, but she still doesn't know what will expect her there. And things, that Alma can't plan in advance, things that are uncertain, are something, she can't handle well.

Therefore, Alma is very careful what to say, when they talk about Catherine's work.

Catherine still seems to notice Alma's hesitation, so today she has planned to address this subject.

"Alma," she begins," I've noticed that you still haven't made an appointment." Ashamed, Miss Peregrine looks down and takes another sip of her coffee.

"You know, you can tell me when you feel uncomfortable with me examining you. It's my job and I do it every day, so I got apathetic to it. But I completely understand if you mind," Catherine explains.

Blushing a bit, Alma shakes her head.

"It's not that," she says shyly and looks up at Catherine, biting her lower lip.

"What is it then?" Catherine asks confused.

"I've never..."Alma begins, but stops as she don't know how to say it as she doesn't want to seem like a little child.

"You mean you've never been to a gynaecologist before?" Catherine asks in disbelief and Alma just nods.

"Oh... I wouldn't have expect something like that. How come?"

"Where we lived, we were quite cut-off from everything, living on a small island, where not a single doctor lived. And we only went to the mainland to see one, when a child was seriously sick, which didn't happen often," Alma explains honestly, feeling that they are getting back to their comfortable atmosphere again.

"I see..." Catherine answers slowly. "But there's no need to be afraid, Alma, I promise."

"I know," Alma now laughs about herself. "But I'm still nervous."

"Of course you are, I believe everyone is at the first time, that's completely normal," Catherine assures her before taking another sip of her drink. Alma leans back into her seat, thinking about what Catherine has said.

"I've got an idea," Catherine suddenly interrupts her thoughts.

"Let's go over to my office now"

"Now? It's Sunday," Alma says confused.

"So what?" Catherine laughs. "I got the keys. And besides, the office is empty today. No other patients, no staff, just the two of us. And it's spontaneous, so you don't have to wait at home for the appointment, worrying even more," Catherine winks at Alma.

Her heart rate increasing, Alma suddenly feels all the nervousness return. But Catherine is right, she can't postpone it any longer it only gets harder and like this it's the easiest for her.

"Ok," she finally agrees.

After both women have finished their drinks, talking some more about other more pleasant topics, they drive to Catherine's office.

It's in a small house on the outskirts of the town. Inside it's very bright and friendly, so Alma immediately feels less tense.

Catherine leads her into the exam room and tells her exactly what she has to do. Before and during the examination, Catherine distracts Alma by talking to her. She is as gentle as can be and takes her time to inform Alma about every step first. Of course Alma doesn't enjoy this whole procedure but it's less scary than she first thought and she is more busy with how to position her injured leg than anything else.

Luckily everything is alright, at least what Catherine can tell immediately, and Alma can dress herself again.

"So there's nothing stopping you from having a child with Ethan," Catherine jokes and winks at Alma as they leave the exam room.

Again Alma blushes, which she tries to hide quickly by laughing out loud.

"Oh no, I've got enough of that at home already," Alma retorts.

Catherine stops walking and turns around to look at her.

"Don't you ever want children of your own?" she asks unbelievingly.

"I've never thought about it before," Alma admits. "When you decide to spend your whole life with taking care of children, you don't think about a family of your own, I guess," Alma explains.

"So you've never met anyone, you could have imagined having children with?"

Alma just shakes her head and looks at the ground again.

"I know Ethan has had his share of partners in his life, but he's never been so serious with anyone before," Catherine says.

"Have you two talked about it?" Alma wants to know, looking up curiously.

"No of course not," Catherine laughs. "And don't tell him that I've said something. But I know him for so long and he's the perfect father and I can imagine that he wants to have children some day."

Thoughtfully Alma nods.

"I know, I've seen him with my children, he's so sweet," Alma says and has to smile just thinking about it.

"I can imagine. But seriously, have you never talked about it? You seem so close and serious with your relationship," Catherine points out.

"Really, do we? " Alma asks amazed. To her, this whole relationship is so new and they have never talked about the future and just enjoyed the moments they had together.

Catherine nods enthusiastically.

" But no, we have never talked about something like that. And believe me, we're so far from having children," Alma laughs, mostly to hide her embarrassment as she blushes again.

"So you've never been together, I mean really..." Catherine implies and Alma just shakes her head shyly.

"Oh, I would never have thought," Catherine answers stunned."Oh wait, does that mean, that you have never before?" she concludes after some thinking.

Again Alma shakes her head, her face now beet-red.

"Never?" Catherine asks.

"No, I mean yes," Alma stumbles. "But I was really young, it was before my training, when I was 20 years younger."

"And afterwards never again?" Catherine asks astonished.

"No," Alma shakes her head once more. "As I said, in my profession you don't think about something like that."

"Wow," Catherine just answers. "That's rare in times like these."

Alma just shrugs.

"And does Ethan know?" Catherine keeps asking curiously.

"No," Alma admits. "We've never talked about it. Besides, he was the one who said, we all have to wait until the HPV vaccinations are finished, so there was never a word about it," Alma explains.

"Oh, so he has vaccinated you as well?"

"Yes, he explained that it can be done with adults as well," Alma answers unsure.

"Yes definitely, I know and especially when you barely haven't slept with anyone in your life," Catherine confirms.

"I should tell him, shouldn't I?" Alma asks finally.

Catherine nods firmly. "Yes. And you shouldn't be embarrassed, Ethan will be really understanding and gentle. Believe me and I should know," Catherine laughs.

"You and Ethan?" Alma asks surprised and Catherine nods, still laughing.

"We were young and drunk. It happened in our first year at Medical school and was a one-off. And since then we have been nothing more than best friends," Catherine explains.

"I wouldn't have guessed," Alma laughs as both women leave the house.

"But I'm going to tell him, thank you," she adds as they both get into Catherine's car.

Catherine drops Alma off at her home, thanking her for the lovely afternoon and informing her that they should meet again soon. Smiling, Alma waves her goodbye before entering the house. Relieved that she got the examination over with and has talked to Catherine about the rest, Alma can spend another lovely evening with her children before falling into a restful sleep. She still takes Ethan's tablets from time to time but since he has stayed with her for a few weeks, her nightmares have cease slightly.

A week later the school starts again, so they all have to get up early again. After all the kids went to school, as also the little ones are now able to walk alone, Alma does some cleaning and the laundry, before she has another physiotherapy appointment.

It's necessary, as her foot still won't be back to normal for some time. It's really frustrating for Alma as the accident was now nearly three month ago and she still can't walk without the crutches. Regularly she needs to go to the hospital for check-ups and control x-rays, but until now her bones haven't healed enough to allow her to walk with the cast on.

With the physiotherapist, she does gentle exercises for her hip and knee, to prevent the muscles from getting too weak. Furthermore they do balance exercises and some where the physiotherapist applies the right stress in the correct direction to help the bones heal faster.

But Alma hopes that she will soon be able to put some weight on her foot while walking, then it won't be too long until she doesn't need the crutches anymore.

After the appointment, Alma does some work on her desk before she wants to prepare some lunch for her little ones. Just as Alma wants to pay some bills, the phone rings.

Curious, who might call her, she answers. It's the elementary school. Apparently there's a problem with Claire and the twins and she should come immediately. Before Alma hangs up and wants to leave, they assure her that it's nothing serious so she doesn't have to worry.

As Alma arrives at the school, one of the assistants leads her to a room, where her children are with some others. Confused Alma looks around, she has never been in this room before. It's not a classroom. She can see some assistants but no teachers.

"What's wrong?" asks Alma as one of them approaches her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Peregrine," the friendly woman greets her. "We have a little problem with your children," she begins.

"What kind of problem?" Alma asks to make it faster. She's in no mood to wait for so long, she just wants to know what happened to her children.

"We have a few children in their class, who have got lice. And therefore, we need to examine every other child and unfortunately Claire and the twins refused to be examined and didn't let anyone touch them," the woman explains a little bit annoyed.

"I see," Alma answers while thinking what to do next. Secretly, she's very proud of her children, that they thought for themselves. But she can't say that to the assistant.

"I'm really sorry for the trouble the three caused you," Miss Peregrine begins. "But if you don't mind, I'd rather examine them myself at home. I understand, that you had to do it, but I taught my children to be self confident and if they don't want it to be done here, I will respect that."

Irritated the woman nods. "If you insist, you can take them with you, class is over for today anyway."

"Thank you," Miss Peregrine answers and walks over to get her children. "And I hope, we didn't offend you. As I said I completely understand that it was your duty, but as I'm already here, I'd like to respect their wishes."

"Of course," the woman says, now in a friendlier tone. "We just can't count on every parent to be as sensible as you, so we rather do it ourselves, than having some children that don't get treated."

"I understand," Alma assures her. "Have a lot of your examined children been affected?"

"Unfortunately yes. No one of us noticed anything until one mother told us about her child this morning and they seem to have spread to a lot of the other children as well."

"Ah, ok," Alma says. "What do you would advise, if some of them are affected, too?"

"If we can find some lice, we tell the parents to get the insecticidal shampoo and a lice coomb. I can give you pamphlet about the right treatment, if you want," the assistant offers.

"That would be really helpful," Alma says and thanks the woman as she hands it to her. Then she gets Claire and the twins and they leave, after Alma has made them apologize for causing them trouble. Outside, though, she lets them know how proud she is of their behaviour.

"You did really good! Now I know that I can trust you in situation like these," she praises them, before they go to the next bus station, as Alma can't walk all the way with her crutches.

At home, Alma prepares some sandwiches and after they eat together, Alma inspects her children's heads.

Very carefully, she lifts the twins masks, just enough to reach all the hair and even more carefully, Alma inspects the hair and scalp around Claire's backmouth. When Claire first came to her, she had gotten bitten multiple times. And it's not pleasant at all, as the wounds are quite deep and get infected easily. But by now, Alma knows exactly how to handle Claire's second mouth and doesn't get hurt anymore.

Unfortunately, Alma finds lice on all of their heads, so she decides to send them doing their homework first. Meanwhile Bronwyn, Fiona and Hugh come home as well. While they eat and look out for the younger ones, Alma reads the information pamphlet and then takes the bus into town to buy the things she needs to treat her children.

As she returns, Millard and Horace have already returned and the others have finished their homework. Briefly, Alma informs the other children of what had happened before she goes into the bathroom with her three youngest.

The whole afternoon, Alma spends with washing and combing her children's hair. It takes an eternity, because she needs to take one single strand after the other and their peculiarities doesn't make it easier. Alma doesn't notice how the time flies until she hears someone knocking at the door and Emma enters the bathroom.

"That looks like fun," she points out and looks at her ymbryne compassionately.

"Totally," Alma laughs. At least she can still laugh.

"Can I help you?" Emma offers.

"Oh that would be great," Alma exclaims. "Are you sure you've got time?"

"I'm sure," Emma assures her. "And Olive already offered to help too. What can we do?"

"If it's ok, you could take over here. I will show you what to do. Then I can go and take a look at all the others and make some dinner," Alma explains.

Agreeing, Emma leaves to get Olive, so Alma can show both of them how to do it. Luckily the coomb was only available in a double package, so they can both do it at the same time.

In the living room all the others are already waiting for Miss Peregrine to return. They have a lot of questions and bizarrely nearly all of them where constantly scratching their heads. Alma explains everything, while taking a close look at them all. Of course some of the boys insist on being fine and lice-free, but Alma doesn't listen to them and inspects them all. Luckily most of them are really fine, just on Bronwyn's and Fiona's head, Miss Peregrine could detect some. Of course it had to be her girls with the long hair.

"We'll take care of that later," Alma sighs and goes into the kitchen to make some dinner.

As the food has been served, Emma and Olive are nearly ready as well. Alma has brought them some new masks for the twins, as well as clothes and gathers their old clothes in a plastic bag. After they have eaten, Alma changes all the beddings of the affected children, so that the younger ones can go to sleep. Emma and Olive have tidied up the living room and the kitchen and are now doing their homework. Alma doesn't want to bother them again and it's more important that they take care of their own things. Therefore she takes Bronwyn and Fiona into the bathroom and starts with their hair. As Bronwyn is the younger one, she's first but with her tangled curls, it takes even longer than with Claire's. As Alma has finished with the last strand and washes out Bronwyn's hair, it's already half past 9. Bronwyn has already yawned a couple of times.

"Ok, you're ready," Alma informs her. "You've been really patient, thank you. Now go to bed," she says smiling. Gladly Bronwyn does as she was told, so Alma starts with Fiona's hair next.

At half past 10, Alma clears away all the tools, cleans the bathroom and goes to bed immediately. It has been one long day again and she's already looking forward to the next ones. Tomorrow, she will have to inform the middle school about it and during the next days, they have to repeat the procedure of today a couple of times. Without any sleeping pills, Alma falls asleep as soon as she has lied down.

The next day, Alma has a lot to do. As soon as her children have left for school, she calls Bronwyn's and Fiona's school to inform them about the incident. Then she starts cleaning the whole house, she washes the clothes and bedding from yesterday as well as their dolls and stuffed animals before placing them into a closed plastic bag for some days. Then she accurately cleans their rooms as well as the living room. She hopes that it will be enough, otherwise, she wouldn't know what to do with the couch or the carpets.

As her children return from school, Alma is already exhausted but hasn't time to rest. She prepares something to eat, helps them with their homework, practices their instruments with them before repeating the procedure from the day before. Unfortunately she has to do it on her own, as the teenagers are all working today. After the last months, they all have to catch up on their work in the supermarket. As they finally return, Alma has finished with Claire, the twins and Bronwyn. Quickly she hurries to prepare dinner.

Luckily, Emma and Olive clean up after the meal, so Alma can finish Fiona's hair.

Completely knackered, she joins her children on the couch, watching a movie before going to bed.

The next days go by pretty much the same. One afternoon, Ethan comes to visit them. Immediately, Alma tells him what has happened, in case he had any contact with her affected children. But instead of being angry that she hasn't told him earlier, he just laughs. The sight of Alma with gloves on and her hair tied back with a scarf, combing all her children's hair, is slightly funny. Of course he pities her and has to remind her to rest her leg. Standing for most of the day already had its affect on her leg, which is quite swollen and painful again.

As Alma has finished with her children, she checks Ethan's head but fortunately she doesn't find any lice. Ethan would have stayed longer and helped her more but he has to leave again soon because of a medical education program he's taking part in every evening this week. As he has left, Alma quickly calls Catherine to inform her as well.

After a couple of days, Alma has finally more time again. The repetition of the cleaning of her children's hair gets less frequent and she finds more time for all the other things they usually do as well as her physiotherapy appointments.

But on one evening, as they are all sitting together at the dining table, she notices Horace and Hugh scratching their heads.

"What did you just do?" she asks them alarmed. Both of the boys shrug, not having noticed it.

"You have just scratched your head," Alma lets them know. "Have you been doing that more often today?"

"I don't know," Hugh answers hesitantly. "I guess not," Horace adds.

"Please not again," Alma sighs and stands up to inspect their heads.

The younger children start laughing silently, secretly wishing their brothers the same, they had to endure.

"How did that happen?" Alma exclaims. "I've cleaned everything else and all the others have been treated..."

"Has anyone else had to scratch his head ?" she asks the others, who shake their heads.

Annoyed, Alma starts to clean the boy's room as well before taking care of her two boys heads in the bathroom. Luckily they have short hair, so she doesn't have to be up for half of the night again.

The next day, she has to call the High school as well, takes care of the washing and cleans the whole house again. Because she had to use it so often, the shampoo is nearly empty, so Alma takes the bus into town to buy a new package.

By now, Alma has to take care of her children's hair every day, either the repetition for her little ones or the first procedures for the boys. Furthermore, Claire has gotten unwell, because the irritant shampoo wasn't good for the mucosa of her backmouth. It hurts and leads to a headache which makes Claire whiney and unable to go to school for two days. Nonetheless, Alma can't stop the treatment yet or the lice might come back. Very carefully, she tries to leave out the area around it though.

As Catherine comes to visit in the evening, Alma is too tired to spend time with her, so they just talk a bit, before she leaves again. She, like Ethan was lucky and hasn't got any lice, which makes Alma relieved.

After another two days, Alma finally finds her hope again as the little ones are through with their treatment and Claire gets better. Now she only has to take care of the boys heads every couple of days, which is much easier.

Nonetheless Miss Peregrine is still feeling drained from the last week, so when Enoch and Jake confess that their heads started to itch as well, she's so close to a mental breakdown.

"How can that be?" she asks close to tears. "I don't understand it, we've cleaned everything and all the other children are lice-free by now."

"Oh Miss P.," Emma tries to comfort her. "We will find the source, I'm sure."

"Yes, there must be another carrier of lice, someone they all had contact with," Olive points out. "Yes, that must be it," Enoch cuts in.

"But who?" Emma asks.

"Maybe someone in school," Jake guesses.

"No, I don't think so," Olive answers thoughtfully.

"But it can't be someone here," Miss Peregrine says desperately. "I've checked all your heads in the beginning. The twins, Claire, Bronwyn and Fiona had already been affected, Hugh and Horace had been ok then, as have you four and me," she lists.

"Wait!" Emma cuts in. "What about Millard?"

"Oh no," Miss Peregrine sighs. "How could I have forgotten him?"

"And why didn't he say anything, he must have had to scratch his head during the last week," Olive points out.

"I've got no idea," Miss Peregrine replies. "But I will find out. How could he not say anything the whole time. I nearly went insane, not knowing what to do."

"Millard!" she shouts for him, not hiding her anger.

Shyly, Millard enters the living room.

"Yes?" he answers playing innocent.

"Why on earth haven't you said, that I haven't checked your head?" Miss Peregrine asks, trying to control her voice.

"I don't know," Millard guesses.

"Of course you do. You knew exactly what you did! It's your fault that we've got lice now too," Enoch rants. But Miss Peregrine motions for him to stop.

"Millard, this was very immature," she says disappointed. "And I hope you know how much exertion you have caused."

"I'm sorry, Miss," he answers sheepishly. "I didn't mean to cause you trouble."

"I hope so," Miss Peregrine sighs. "For now I'm just happy, that we found the source of it all. And to prevent it to start anew, I want all of us treated. I don't care if you've got lice now or not, I've got enough of this," she states angrily.

"Girls, I'm sorry, but I want you to do the boys heads, I'm taking care of Millard and then of you. Afterwards I'd ask one of you to help me with my hair, alright?" Alma asks.

All the children nod in agreement. Of course the girls are not happy about so much work and to have to endure it themselves even if it's not really necessary but they understand Miss Peregrine and want this to be over as soon as possible as well.

And so they start with their work, the girls and boys go into the bathroom and Miss Peregrine starts with their beds and clothes, not leaving Millard out of sight for one second.

Then as it's Millard's turn, Miss Peregrine nearly goes mad once more. It has already been difficult to clean and comb Bronwyn's and Claire's curly hair but hair that you can't even see is nearly impossible to treat. Luckily, Millard is very patient and stays still the whole time, still feeling guilty.

As they're all finished it's already dark outside again. But all of them are happy that this is going to be over soon.

After some more days, when all of them are finally lice-free again and only the three boys have to have the treatment repeated in a couple of days, Miss Peregrine has brought lots of things and prepared a big dinner with dessert. She has also invited Ethan and Catherine, who all the children started to like a lot as well. Especially her girls like and admire Catherine, who has always a funny story about a former lover. Alma is not sure if it will be good for them, when they will have to go see Catherine as her patient and if it will be even more embarrassing for them, but for Alma herself it has been rather helpful.

Together they all enjoy Miss Peregrine's fantastic meal before she stands up.

"Thank you for coming, Ethan and Catherine," she begins. "I planned this dinner to celebrate, that we survived these last days. I think that I'm speaking for all of us when saying that it has been quite difficult."

All of the children nod.

"But we are one big family and together we can get through things like this. I'm really proud of you all, that you helped me, either by taking over some things, I normally do or just by being patient enough to endure the multiple evenings we spent in the bathroom," Alma continues smiling at them all.

"Even if I had a lot of work, I want you to know, that I'm not angry at one of you. You're my children and I'll always do anything for you." Now Alma has to concentrate hard to control her emotions. She looks at Ethan, who gives her an encouraging smile.

"Luckily you, Ethan and Catherine, were spared from all this," she jokes again.

"So now, let us proceed to the dessert and drink to our future, hopefully without any lice," Alma laughs and raises her glass.

Cheering, all the children and guests raise their glasses as well before starting with the tasty dessert, talking to each other and enjoying the first relaxed evening in days.


	19. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Rated M!**

"Let's go dancing!"

"Oh yes, come on, Alma," Catherine exclaims and jumps to her feet.

"You know I can't," Alma reminds her, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I don't really see the point in dancing without a partner."

"Oops, sorry, I always forget," Catherine apologizes quickly before taking another sip from her drink. "But you're so wrong, my dear Alma and you will see it."

And then she's already disappearing into a dancing crowd, leaving Alma behind.

Miss Peregrine is sitting on an old couch in a noisy cocktail bar. How she has let herself being talked into something like that, she doesn't know. It had been Catherine's idea of course.

She wanted to go out on a girls night with Alma and two other friends of her. Of course, Alma has said no in the beginning. It's not like her to go partying. She's not against alcohol, as she has always been drinking a bit in the evenings. Now it's mostly just wine, though she used to always have some brandy or coca-wine in her old house, but that was just for a quiet evening at home. Going out in a fancy dress, dancing to modern music isn't her thing at all, but Catherine had been too persuasive. She said that Alma needed some time out as well, that she needed to have fun and Ethan was only too happy to let her go. In fact he even offered to stay with her children for the evening and night.

So Miss Peregrine didn't have another choice and she has to admit, that it's really not as bad as she thought. Of course she's missing out on the dancing part, but that's just in her interest.

From her spot, she watches the other three women flipping out to the music. For the first time, Alma feels lucky to have a broken leg. She would have felt so out of place and wouldn't have known how to move. It's not that she doesn't like dancing but only with men and not nervously moving one's limbs to the music if this can even be called music.

Appreciatively sipping on her cocktail, she just enjoys the atmosphere. It's not too bad and has even gotten better the longer she has been here. Maybe it's to blame on her rising alcohol level but Alma doesn't care anymore.

Had she known before, that cocktails contain so much alcohol, she probably wouldn't have started drinking. But by now she doesn't even taste it anymore and enjoys the sweetness of her drinks. She couldn't even say how many she had until now, as Catherine and her friends keep ordering new drinks in such a pace, that Alma can't keep track anymore.

"Have you seen it? It's so much fun, we definitely have to go out again when you're able to dance too," Catherine shouts as she's suddenly standing in front of her again. She as well has drunk so much that it's a wonder, that she's still able to stand upright. It must be the practice Alma guesses. And that must be the reason for her own state as well. If Alma wasn't used to drinking sometimes, she's sure she would already be lying on the ground in a corner somewhere.

"I have seen you," Alma assures her, intentionally ignoring her comment about another night out. Swaying a bit, Catherine sits down next to Alma finishing her last drink.

Shortly afterwards the other two women come back with a new round of cocktails.

"You're not serious?" Alma laughs. "How can you still be drinking, we've already had so much."

"I got the impression that you could do with some more," Catherine laughs, which makes the other two cheer.

Reluctantly, Alma takes her drink, her thinking has already slowed down, so she doesn't think reasonably anymore. Instead, she just tries it, amazed by all the different tastes they have already tried this evening.

For some time, the four women just keep talking. For all of them it's a welcome change to be just around women, talking freely, without their men or kids around.

They talk about everything but mostly men and relationships. Despite the alcohol, Alma still keeps blushing when it comes to intimate subjects. Luckily, Catherine hides Alma's discomfort well, so none of the other two get to know about her lack of experience.

But even Alma has to realize that she gets more easy-going as the time passes. Though only as she wants to get up, because they all want to go home, Alma notices how much alcohol she must have drunk. She has to grab the edge of the table to keep herself from swaying. Since none of the others feel differently, it's a long and troublesome way first to the toilet and then to the cab they have ordered, especially for Alma on her crutches.

Multiple times she loses her balance or bumps into strangers on her way out. She's just happy that she doesn't fall to the ground and hurts her leg more. But to be honest, she has stopped to think about such things a long time ago.

Despite all their worrying states they all keep joking and giggling the whole time.

The cab hasn't even set off, as the first of Catherine's friends starts throwing up. Again, Alma is so happy to sit on the front passenger seat because of her leg. She doesn't feel sick herself but had she been sitting next to the unfortunate woman, she's not sure if she could have stayed in control of her own stomach.

Carefully, she takes some deep breaths of the fresh air outside the window and tries not to listen to the noises coming from the back seat. Soon, the taxidriver can start and all of them are laughing again, singing to the music of the radio.

A couple of times they have to stop again because someone needs to throw up. So far Alma couldn't resist but she feels it getting harder with every time. Luckily her home is the first stop and she can leave the cab soon.

Waving goodbye she tries to make her way to the front door, which isn't easy at all. She nearly stumbles over the one step but can grab the wall just in time. Fumbling with her handbag, searching for the key, she quickly loses her patience. Eventually feeling too cold to wait here longer, she decides to walk around the house and knock at her window to wake up Ethan.

Giggling, because she has nearly fallen into one of the bushes next to the window, Alma taps at the glass. There's still light in the room and Ethan has still been reading, waiting for her to return safely. Immediately he jumps to his feet, which makes Alma giggle again. Ethan motions for her to go to the terrace door, where he will let her in.

Carefully Alma stumbles towards the glass door and leans into it for support until Ethan arrives as well. Quietly, he opens the door, which makes Alma fall into the room towards him. Reacting quickly, he catches her before she can fall to the ground.

"Whoa! Someone has had too much alcohol," he remarks smirking and helps her into the house.

"Hey," Alma warns him, smacking his shoulder with her hand. "I'm not that drunk, it's just not so easy while you're walking on crutches," she informs him, poking her tongue out, before trying to limp into the room.

As Ethan has closed the door behind them, he carries Alma into their room, leaving her crutches leaning against the couch. Gently, he sets her down on the ground next to the door, where she can get ready for bed.

"So I take it you had lots of fun in the end nonetheless," he points out, while Alma stands at the sink, trying to wash her face and brush her teeth.

"Yes, Mr. know-it-all, I enjoyed the evening, even if I didn't want to go in the beginning," she jokes with toothpaste foam in her mouth. Hadn't he known what she would answer to that, he probably wouldn't have understood her, as her speech has already been slightly slurred before the tooth brushing.

Laughing Ethan helps her over next to the bed and hands her her night clothes. He wants to go back to bed to give her some privacy, but as he sees her swaying he stays to steady her.

Clumsily, Alma fumbles with the buttons of her blouse. After some time Ethan isn't able to stand by and watch her any more, so he takes her hands away and undresses her. Then he bends down to pick up her night gown, while Alma tries to undo her bra. Of course she can't do it as well, so Ethan grabs around her back to help her. Sighing he undoes the clasp, lets it fall down onto the bed and offers Alma the night gown, all the time looking into her eyes.

Until now, Alma couldn't stop laughing. About Ethan's facial expression, her clumsiness and everything else. But suddenly the atmosphere has changed and as she takes in Ethan's muscular frame in his sleeping top and looks into his eyes, she forgets about everything else.

Without thinking, Alma takes Ethan's head and pulls him down to press her lips against his. They still taste like toothpaste and are as soft as ever. Letting her fingers play with his hair, she deepens the kiss and soon they are kissing passionately, her hands exploring his body.

Ethan was surprised by her reaction, they rarely kiss like this and if they do it's mostly him who takes the initiative. Nonetheless, he enjoys it and participates gladly.

If Alma could think clearly, she would have stopped now, as there are so many reasons for her not to take it further. But she's way past the point of making sensible decisions and her whole body aches for Ethan's touch. So instead of pulling back, she starts kissing her way to Ethan's ear and neck, while her hands roam over his upper body touching all his muscles.

Ethan himself, is quite tentative, just steadying her with his hands on her hips. Of course he would love to do the same as Alma and even more, but he would never take advantage of her current state.

But as she continues with her caresses, he can't fight it any longer and gently lays her down on the bed before placing his body next to hers.

Until now, he has only looked into her eyes and not at her newly exposed body. But her smile and the light in her eyes is all the confirmation he needs to let his hands move freely, revelling in the softness of her skin, before his kisses follow the same route.

When Ethan looks back up, Alma has already closed her eyes, moaning softly and letting her body react to his touch. She has never felt this good and protected in her whole life, even if she's so exposed. She enjoys how Ethan makes her feel, not thinking that it could get any better.

As his hand goes even lower, Alma jumps slightly, surprised by what's happening now. Ethan calms her down with another kiss and as he pulls back, she has already forgotten that it's something new for her. He does things to her body and makes her feel things she has never thought possible. Alma keeps her eyes closed and let all the new sensations wash over her.

But way too soon it's all over and a lot of things happen at the same time.

First, Alma hears the quiet creaking of her door. Alarmed she looks up and sees Emma standing in the doorway. Ethan, not being as vigilant as Alma, only notices it as she moves into a sitting position. Then he turns around as well.

Emma has her hand in front of her mouth, her eyes widened in shock. She mumbles something that's supposed to mean 'sorry' and runs back into the corridor.

Ethan and Alma are shocked as well, her faces turning red immediately. Alma wants to go after her girl, but she's still processing what has happened and is overwhelmed by all these emotions rushing through her body, the shock and her jump. Besides, she still feels a bit dazed from the alcohol. Suddenly she's hit by a wave of nausea. She tries to scramble to her feet but finds her body unable to respond.

Ethan, still embarrassed doesn't understand what's happening. Looking for something to explain Alma's reactions, he searches her eyes. As she looks around frantically, he slowly seems to understand. But it's too late and he has to just watch, as Alma throws up onto the blanket.

Overchallenged, Ethan doesn't know what to do first. He decides, that Alma's current state is the most pressing matter, so he runs out of the room to get a bucket out of the bathroom.

In the corridor he passes Emma, who still can't believe what has happened. At seeing Ethan she turns red too and keeps apologizing, not understanding what Ethan is doing at the moment.

Friendly he motions for her to wait here and that he will come back shortly. Back in Alma's room he hands her the bucket and carefully extracts the blanket from under her body. In between the retching Alma tries to apologize and tell Ethan to check on Emma and see what she wanted.

Ethan nods and wraps Alma into the second blanket to cover up her naked body. Then he runs back out into the corridor. Emma is still standing in the semidarkness, supporting herself against the wall.

"I'm really sorry," Ethan begins, panting.

"No, I am," Emma insists, still looking at the ground instead of Ethan. "I should have knocked louder and waited for an answer, but I thought you had left after Miss Peregrine returned."

"It's alright, Emma, really. But Alma sends me to ask what you wanted from her," Ethan tries to get to the point as he wants to return to Alma as soon as possible.

"Oh yes, I nearly forgot," Emma answers shyly. "It's about Fiona. She's having a terrible nightmare. Olive is with her now, but we both weren't able to calm her down and Miss Peregrine always knows what to do," Emma explains.

"Oh, alright," Ethan stumbles, thinking about what to do. "Unfortunately, Alma is in no state to go right now. But I can try my best. Would you go and stay with Alma until I'm back," he asks.

As he sees Emma hesitating, Ethan ads:" Don't worry she's dressed again, or at least the closest thing to dressed."

Smirking a bit Emma turns around to go into her headmistresses room. She still feels embarrassed but can also kind of see the funny side of the situation. Entering the room, though, her smile disappears immediately.

Her ymbryne is sitting on the bed, her head bend over the bucket, Ethan had gotten. Instantly taking pity on her, Emma approaches and sits down next to her, stroking her back through the fabric of the blanket.

As Alma notices Emma, she tries to apologize for everything but gets interrupted by her nausea too often to form a coherent sentence. Comforting her, Emma sits with her headmistress, while Ethan sits at Fiona's bed.

She has finally woken up and is now crying silently into Ethan's shoulder. She absolutely won't talk about her dream, but Ethan gets her to calm down enough to fall back asleep. Assuring her that she won't be alone ever and that nothing will happen to her, Fiona finally closes her eyes again. As her breathing is even, Ethan lays her back in the bed and leaves the room.

After he hurries back to the other two women, Ethan thanks Emma and assures her that Miss Peregrine will be fine and that he takes good care of her. He's not sure if Emma has noticed the cause for Miss Peregrine's state but he doesn't think that Emma is stupid and she surely can put one and one together. Deciding that this shouldn't be his priority now, Ethan wishes Emma a good night and closes the door behind her. Then he focuses back on Alma, who feels slightly better, but still needs the bucket from time to time.

Looking at her miserable state, Ethan doesn't feel like joking about it, but he sure will save all the good jokes for the next morning. When Alma feels that it's save, Ethan takes the bucket to clean it before returning it to her. Then he goes and takes care of the dirty blanket, he had left in the bathroom. He strips the inside of the dirty bed sheet which he cleans in the bathtub before placing it in the washing machine. Then he puts a new bed sheet on and returns to the bed, where Miss Peregrine has lied back again but is still clutching the bucket on the ground next to her side of the bed with one hand. As she hears him, she looks up and tries to apologize a hundred times. She feels terribly sorry and embarrassed, that she vomited on the bed and that Ethan had to clean it up, but Ethan assures her that it was no big deal and that she should concentrate on herself for now.

Alma looks rather pale and her head doesn't seem to stop spinning which just increases the nausea. Ethan lies down next to her, gently caressing her arm trying to lull her to sleep. After another hour it finally works and Alma gets a bit of rest.

Too soon though, her alarm clock goes off again. Alma still feels terrible, the nausea hasn't faded yet and in addition to the dizziness, she now has a pounding headache. But Miss Peregrine would never neglect her duties or let show her uneasiness, especially not when she has brought it on herself. Never would she want her children to know, that she has a hangover!

Therefore she struggles to get up at her usual time but as it's a Sunday morning, it's a fairly acceptable time. Because Ethan has left her crutches in the living room, Alma tries to jump on one leg to reach her wardrobe.

Luckily Ethan woke up from the alarm as well and helps her.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, already smirking.

"Don't laugh!" she snaps at him, holding up her index finger in front of his face.

"I would never do something like that," he says trying to control his voice. "What do you think of me? How could I make fun of the strict, composed and always self-controlled Alma Peregrine," he jokes nonetheless. But at seeing her stern expression, Ethan stops immediately, still laughing inwardly, though.

Meanwhile he helps Alma to get ready and joins her in the kitchen to prepare the breakfast. Without her asking he takes over the more difficult tasks as frying the beacon or some sausages, which Alma wouldn't have been capable of.

A couple of times she needs to gag, but can control herself enough to finish with the breakfast.

As all the children come out of their rooms she puts on her happy face, so no one notices anything.

During the meal, she does her best to hide her many discomforts and to not let the children see that she's not eating anything. Of course Emma notices, though, as she knows exactly how Miss Peregrine feels. Emma can remember only too vividly how she felt the morning after Enoch's birthday. And Miss Peregrine must have drunk a lot more than her, so Emma really admires her ymbryne's strong will to spend the day as if nothing has happened.

Of course Emma had to do the same back then, but Miss P. is an adult and can do such things, besides, it was long overdue that she let herself go a bit and had fun with some friends.

Emma herself, is very quiet during the breakfast, not daring to look into Miss Peregrine's eyes. She still feels too guilty and ashamed.

So does Miss Peregrine. She wasn't thinking clearly last night and today as she's sober, she feels terribly embarrassed.

The only one who enjoys the whole situation is Ethan. He has talked to Emma the last night and they have resolved all the issues, so now he just enjoys the two women blushing and Alma trying her best to not throw up onto the table.

Just the other children don't notice a thing. They keep talking enthusiastically and laugh about some jokes Millard tells them. Even Fiona seems to feel so much better than last night. She smiles, which even reaches her eyes and Ethan gets the impression, that she's used to dreams like that and knows how to handle them. Nevertheless, he will talk to Alma about it later, than she can decide what to do about her girl.

After the breakfast, Ethan helps with the cleaning and then offers to take the children to the big playground a few streets away.

"I'm sure Emma will be willing to stay here with you, Alma," he says looking at both of them.

Reluctantly, Emma nods, looking at her lap.

"Ok," Alma sighs and gets up to walk over to the couch.

Soon all the children have gotten the things they want to take with them and have dressed to go.

"We will be back soon," Ethan says. "Enjoy your time!"

Then they all exit through the front door, leaving Emma and Alma in an uncomfortable silence.

"So, we probably need to talk," Alma begins after some time, addressing Emma, who's sitting on the second couch, still looking at anything but her ymbryne.

"I guess," she answers, not wanting to have this talk at all.

For another couple of seconds they remain silent until Emma looks up.

"I'm really sorry," both of the women say simultaneously, which makes them smile slightly.

"No really, Emma, I don't know what to say. It was inacceptable. There's a reason why ymbrynes don't have relationships. I got distracted and wasn't there for you," Miss Peregrine apologizes now looking down herself. Alma feels herself blushing again. She doesn't know how much Emma saw or heard and just thinking about it makes her even more sick in her current state.

"Oh, Miss P.," Emma interrupts her thoughts. "It's not your fault, I'm sorry that I just entered your room. I was in a hurry and so sure that Ethan had already left. But nothing of that excuses my behaviour."

"No Emma, don't blame you," Miss Peregrine cuts in but again Emma interrupts her.

"But it's right! You of all people need your privacy and therefore none of us should enter your room without permission. And what you do at night is not our business."

"Emma, it wasn't what it looked like," Alma wants to put it right. She wouldn't want her girl to think that she did something she tells her girls to wait for.

"No Miss P., you don't have to explain, I know," Emma tries to make her ymbryne understand that she knows that there are other things couples can do without having sex. She knows exactly, that Miss Peregrine would never be so foolish and not consider the vaccinations.

But it's hard for both women as they are too ashamed to say what they really mean.

" I'm so sorry. It's still new to us all, that Ethan stays here sometimes, I guess. But don't get me wrong. I'm really happy for you two and I understand, that you want to spend some time alone in your room. I won't just go in there again, I promise," Emma wants to say but is cut short by Miss Peregrine.

"It's alright, let's just say it was a one-off for both of us and won't happen again," Alma suggests.

"Definitely," Emma agrees quickly. "But only if it doesn't mean that you cut back on your fun in your relationship."

"Oh, please let's not go there," Alma says quickly before Emma can say anything else. She has a close relationship to her oldest girl but this is definitely something she doesn't want to discuss with her. One may call her old-fashioned but such intimate subjects still embarrass her.

"Oh, yes, sorry," Emma answers blushing as well.

"Ok, then I think we're done here," Alma says and tries to stand up.

"What are you going to do now?" Emma asks surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere.

"I hope you excuse me but I desperately need some pain killers for my head," Alma says winking at Emma.

"Oh, of course," Emma says awkwardly. " If you want to, you can lie down, too. I can take care of the washing and the rest today," she offers but Alma shakes her head.

"Thank you, Emma but no. I may have had my fun yesterday but today I will have to bear the consequences and I won't try to get around that. It's something I always try to teach you and not following my own rules would be hypocritical," Alma insists.

"Maybe," Emma has to admit. "But nonetheless, if you need anything, just ask, ok?"

"Yes, thank you Emma," Alma says while rubbing her temples. "And I'm glad that we talked about it, hoping that it won't stand between us any longer and I hope it's in both our interests that no one else hears about it, don't you think?" she asks.

"Absolutely," Emma agrees smiling at her ymbryne. And I'm glad too," she adds before Miss Peregrine disappears into the bathroom and Emma doesn't get to see her for some time.

So Emma goes back to her own room, listening to some music while tidying up her stuff and finishing a school project for next week. After some time, she can hear some noises from next door, where Miss Peregrine must have started the washing machine. As Emma doesn't know what to do alone anymore, she leaves her room to see if she can still help her ymbryne with some duties. In Emma's opinion she has suffered enough for today.

But entering the living room she can't find her and the door to her room is closed. Therefore Emma hopes that she has taken her advise and lied down for a bit. In the meantime, Emma decides to prepare something for lunch, as she knows that her siblings will be hungry when they return. In the fridge she finds some fresh vegetables and some meat, so she starts making a salad with some slices of fried meat.

Of course Emma could have spent the morning with something other teenagers would do except for helping in the house, but living with an ymbryne for so long does that to you she guesses. She has learned to see all the things that need to be done in the house and she's not happy with only doing fun things the whole day anymore. Therefore she quite enjoys accomplishing a lot while listening to the radio and enjoying the empty house.

As Emma is mixing the ingredients in a big bowl, Miss Peregrine enters the kitchen.

"Oh, Emma," she sighs but still smiling. "You're wonderful but you shouldn't have."

"But I wanted to Miss P.," Emma answers smiling at her ymbryne.

"Thank you. Have you left anything for me to do?"

"Unfortunately not," Emma states laughing.

Smiling, Alma sits down at the small table in the kitchen.

"I'm really grateful, Emma. But I don't like you spending your free time with household chores," Miss Peregrine points out thoughtfully.

"It's alright, Miss P. I've already done something for myself earlier and now I didn't know what else to do."

Reluctantly Alma nods while she lets Emma finish and soon the others return as well. The younger ones come storming into the room, still really excited about the adventures they've just experienced.

After Miss Peregrine has sent them to go wash their hands they return to the table and tell the two women everything that happened at the play ground.

Alma is relieved that it's such a restless atmosphere, so she can hide her discomfort well, as she's still unable to eat something and the pain killers are already wearing off again.

The rest of the day, Ethan tries to occupy the children and lets them practice their instruments, so Alma can have some free time. But she still won't admit that she might need it and finishes the laundry and cleans the house before starting with the dinner instead. Luckily, her nausea is finally subsiding, so she manages to finish the cooking without any problems.

After the meal she sends all of the children to bed earlier than usual because after struggling for the whole day, she really longs for her bed. While the children get ready for bed, she waits on the couch and is soon joined by Ethan with a drink in his hand.

"A glass of wine?" he suggests smirking.

"Definitely not," Alma answers but can by now laugh about it as well.

Sighing, she leans into Ethan's shoulder as he sits down next to her.

"Thank you for not making too much fun of me and for helping me so much," Alma says quietly, as there are still children running through the room.

"Of course," Ethan answers kissing her on the head. "I'm just happy, that you had fun last night and that Catherine was able to get you to loosen up a bit. And as I'm sure that you haven't had such an evening in the last 20 years or maybe even your whole life, it's totally alright to have a hangover."

"Goodnight!" Millard shouts before disappearing into his room as the last one of the children.

"That's sweet of you," Alma laughs. " But it's not really exemplary and appropriate for someone in my position," she argues. "Besides, I'd rather not repeat that any time soon," she sighs.

"I can believe that," Ethan agrees, stroking Alma's shoulders.

"Ah, before I forget about it," he continues. "When Emma interrupted us last night..." Ethan stops as he notices Alma shifting uncomfortable in his arms and laughs again.

"Anyway," Ethan says," she came because Fiona had a bad nightmare."

This makes Alma sit up and look at him.

"Don't worry," Ethan says quickly. "I could calm her down easily and she fell back asleep. I just wanted you to know it, in case there's something bothering her and it might happen again."

"Ok, thank you," Alma answers deep in her thoughts. She knows that Fiona used to have nightmares a lot when she first came to her but until now, she hasn't said anything about it again. Nonetheless Alma will keep it in mind.

"You're welcome," Ethan says. "But speaking of girls talk. You haven't told me about your talk with Emma earlier? Could you resolve everything?" Ethan asks curious.

"Yes, we're ok but I wouldn't want to have a talk like that again," Alma laughs shyly and is happy that Ethan sits behind her and can't see her blush.

"Oh Alma," Ethan chuckles. "I don't know about the odds of that. I don't mean that they will see us again but with so many adolescent children it will be hard to avoid this subject, especially with two teenage couples in the house," Ethan laughs.

"But I'm sure that you shouldn't worry so much. You're children are well-educated and they know more than you might think. What do you think they teach in school these days?," Ethan laughs once more. "And Emma is old enough to know what couples might do behind closed doors at night if she doesn't do it herself. And that should be alright too," Ethan convinces Alma.

"I really don't want to imagine that," Alma answers, trying desperately to cling to the image of her children still being little.

"One day you will have to though," Ethan continues. "And as your last vaccination appointment will be very soon, I guess this day will come faster than you'd like. But as Catherine has offered, you can still let her talk to them," Ethan suggests, wriggling his eyebrows.

But Alma just sighs. This is all too much for her, she has never thought about something like that when she imagined her children growing older one day. And she just can't picture them in such an intimate relationship with someone else. But Ethan is right, even though she doesn't like to admit it, she will at least have to talk to the two couples soon, if she doesn't want to have more children in the house. But right now this is all too much.

"You're right, I know but right now these things make my head feel like it's going to explode," Alma complains.

"You've still got the headache?" Ethan asks while finishing his glass of wine and Alma nods.

"Ok, then I will get you a huge glass of water before we get you to bed, alright?"

"Don't you have to go home?" Miss Peregrine asks confused while sitting up again to turn towards Ethan, who's already standing up.

"Would you rather want me to leave?" he asks back while going into the kitchen.

"No, of course not! But I thought you had to."

"No, it's alright. When I get up with you tomorrow, there will be enough time to go home and take a shower before driving to the office," Ethan explains and hands Alma the glass of water, he's just gotten.

"Thank you," Alma says before finishing it at once. "And also for staying the night. I'd really love that," She says smiling and tries to stand up.

"Wait, let me," Ethan stops her and lifts her into his arms. Laughing, Alma leans her throbbing head into his shoulder and enjoys being carried to her bed.

Then they both get ready for bed before snuggling up to each other and falling into a peaceful sleep, once again without any nightmares for Miss Peregrine.


	20. Chapter 11 Part I

**Chapter 11**

"Finally," Alma says relieved while Ethan gently squeezes her hand.

Both of them are sitting in an office in the hospital, looking at a doctor sitting behind his desk. They have to squint their eyes though, as they are blinded by the strong sun, which shines through the window on the opposite side of the room. It's one of the last hot days of summer and Ethan has accompanied Miss Peregrine to one of her check-ups in the hospital.

To the delight of both of them, the doctor had finally good news. Today's x-ray has showed that Alma's bones have finally healed enough to remove the cast. None of them has expected it as they are normally just told to have patience and wait a little while longer.

Of course Alma is really excited and is already thinking about all the things she will be able to do again. Therefore she's barely listening to everything the doctor has to explain about the following treatment.

Eventually she's told to move over to the surgery couch behind them, where the doctor will remove the cast. With Ethan's help Alma does as she was told but get's a bit tense as well. She's not quite sure what to expect now. She has worn the cast for some month now and can't imagine what it will be like without again.

Slowly the doctor removes all the parts and soon Alma's leg is free. Unsure, she looks at it and it feels strange. Until now she has always avoided looking at it, when the doctors checked her wound but now she has to see it. There's a pretty long scar on the side of her ankle. It's completely healed but still contrasting with her pale skin and therefore quite visible.

The rest of her foot is still a bit swollen and looks different compared to her other one. It's really pale but at the same time quite dry and unpleasant, as it hasn't been properly washed for so long. The whole leg looks thin and unhealthy because of the regression of the muscles.

The doctor tells Alma to start gently moving her foot around and then takes it in his hand to examine everything and test the mobility of the joint.

Alma is pretty hesitant and closes her eyes as the doctor takes over, expecting it to hurt. She's not really comfortable with looking at her leg, it looks repellent and reminds her of all the pain she has endured. Furthermore she doesn't dare to really move it again. It feels very weird, like it's not her own anymore and it seems so fragile without the protection of the cast, like it might break again if she puts weight on it.

"Everything is really good," the doctor says to both of them.

"You will still need the crutches for some time as I don't advise to put your full weight on it immediately. The physiotherapist will practice with you what it means to put only 30 kg on it for now and then he will help you to walk without assistance again. Swimming and riding the bike is already alright from now on."

Alma nods shyly, still occupied with the thoughts about her leg.

"Thank you," Ethan says and shakes the doctor's hand. Alma does the same absentmindedly before they leave the room. On their way down Alma still uses the crutches like before, afraid to overburden her foot.

But as they leave the hospital building to a blazing afternoon, her enthusiasm about her new liberty returns.

"Ethan?" she asks smirking. "Can we go swimming? Please?" she begs, which makes Ethan laugh out loud.

"Oh Alma, a minute ago you were too scared to even move your ankle and now you want to go swimming? Are you sure?"

"Oh please, Ethan. I've waited the whole summer for this day and luckily it's still hot, who knows how long that will last," Alma explains. "Besides, I don't have to swim, you can carry me into the sea, I just want to feel the cool water, please"

"Alright, alright! You definitely deserve that after the last months. And I guess, there are no objections. Your wound has completely healed for some time and as long as I'm with you nothing can happen," Ethan guesses.

Happy, Miss Peregrine jumps and hugs Ethan.

"Thank you!" she exclaims. "I stopped hoping to get it removed when it's still summer a long time ago but now I really can go swimming again this year."

Seeing Alma so happy, makes Ethan smile.

Together they walk to the car before driving home to get their swimming clothes. As all the children are still in school they decide to go on their own instead of waiting for them. It will be more relaxed and they don't want to stay so long anyway.

Both of them really enjoy their little trip into the sea and Ethan is amazed how Alma moves in the water. She manages to swim and dive without moving her injured leg in a way that could be compared to a mermaid.

"You normally go swimming a lot" Ethan guesses laughing.

"I used to, where we lived before. That's why I missed it so much," Alma explains before diving again. But still she wouldn't stray too far, as she still feels insecure with her leg. After some time Ethan decides to use Alma's affinity to the water to his advantage and lets her walk a bit on the ground, as the majority of her body is still in the water. Like this she gets the possibility to walk properly, still with not much weight on her leg.

After some moments of adjusting, Alma gets quite comfortable, but only with Ethan steadying her and knowing that nothing can happen to her leg. She already knows that on solid ground she will be too scared again. But nonetheless she is grateful for Ethan's idea and this possibility. It nearly makes her feel completely healthy again.

Exhausted but really happy Alma lets Ethan drive her home, where she immediately takes a shower. Swimming and the shower are the two things she has missed the most and swore to herself that she will do these things first as soon as the cast gets off.

As the children come home, they are really happy for their ymbryne and together with Ethan they spend the whole afternoon celebrating it by playing and laughing instead of doing their normal duties.

When Ethan leaves after dinner, he encourages Alma to practice moving her foot, despite her fear.

"It will get like before very soon, just keep moving it," he assures her before kissing her goodbye.

"Sleep well and if you're unsure with anything don't hesitate to call me, alright?" Ethan tells her.

Alma nods while slowly letting go of his hand.

"Thank you," she says just before Ethan enters his car and smiles at her.

The next days are hard for Alma, as she's forced to get used to the new situation. The physiotherapist makes her move her ankle a lot and practices walking with her. Furthermore, she gets lots of exercises she has to do alone every day.

Every two days Ethan stops by to examine her leg. He has gotten an ointment, that's supposed to help by reducing the scar tissue, so he massages the scar with it regularly. Alma's leg still feels strange but slowly she gets used to it and looses a bit of her uncertainty.

Nonetheless it still takes some weeks until Alma's allowed to put her full body weight on it and can walk without assistance.

One morning, a few days after Alma was first allowed to walk without help, she sits down with Emma, Olive, Enoch and Jake at the dining table.

"I wanted to talk to you, because I think it's about time, that I try turning into my bird form again," she begins.

"What? Are you sure?" Emma asks surprised.

"Yes, shouldn't you rather call another ymbryne for help?" Enoch advises cautiously.

Olive and Enoch look similarly scared and worried.

"No, Enoch. I don't think that's necessary. You see, I feel good and when I think about transforming, it feels natural," Miss Peregrine tries to assure them.

"But what about possible complications?" Emma warns.

"I've thought a lot about it. And I don't think that it will be like the other way round. It's much more complicated when staying in bird form for too long, as it's not our natural body and character. But like this, I don't think there will be any complications. It may be harder the first time but that's all," Alma explains her thoughts.

"Are you really, really sure, Miss P?" Olive wants to make sure.

Miss Peregrine nods confidently, even if she can't be 100% sure. She's never heard of a case like that. But everything she learned so far, tells her that there will be no major problems.

"Ok, let's say you're right. But in the unlikely case that something happens. What are we supposed to do?" Emma asks, not yet convinced.

"I'll give you the phone number of Miss Avocet. If someone knows what to do, it's her."

The four children nod doubtfully.

"When do you want to try it," Emma asks eventually.

"There is no time like the present," Miss Peregrine answers winking at them. "Besides, I think I've put it off for long enough and it surely won't get easier."

"Maybe you're right," Enoch mumbles, deep in thoughts.

Miss Peregrine looks over her shoulder. Outside in the garden she can see her children. The boys are playing soccer and Claire and Bronwyn help Fiona with the vegetable garden as there's now a lot to harvest.

"I'm sure that it will end well but nonetheless I don't want the others to see it," Miss Peregrine explains her hesitation.

"Where do you want to do it? Here in the living room?" Olive asks her.

"I'm not so sure. I think it's enough to stay in the house for the first time. I won't fly outside so it's alright here. But the others may come inside or see everything through the window and I don't want that," Miss Peregrine explains again.

" We understand that, Miss P.," Olive assures her. "It will be no problem, I can go outside and play with them on the other side of the house."

Olive wants to stay with her ymbryne as well but she knows that she helps her the most by taking care of the children.

"Thank you, Olive," Miss Peregrine answers gratefully.

"I can help too," Jake offers as Olive stands up. "It may be better if we're two to keep an eye on everyone," he explains.

"Jake is right," Emma says. "Otherwise, you could miss someone going inside, Olive"

Olive nods and gratefully accepts Jake's help.

"Thank you too, Jake," Miss Peregrine says as both of them go towards the terrace door.

"Good luck," both of them say. "And call us if anything happens," Olive ads before she closes the door behind them.

Miss Peregrine observes her children running towards them and then disappearing behind the kitchen wall together.

"Ok," she says while taking a deep breath and stands up. She goes into her room and returns with a little notebook.

"You will find all the other ymbryne's numbers in here," she explains while handing it to Enoch, who nods at her.

"Then, it's time," she says and goes into the middle of the room. Miss Peregrine herself feels a bit nervous now but that won't get better when she waits even longer. And she needs to try it, to know that she still has her peculiarity and that she's still a real ymbryne. The fear of losing her ability has bothered her for the last months and now she will finally be able to find out.

"Are you really sure?" Emma asks one last time and Miss Peregrine nods confidently again. She can't let her children see her insecurity.

Slowly she begins to concentrate. She lifts her arms and can already feel the familiar feeling of her whole body preparing for the change. It's a tingling, she wouldn't be able to explain to others. It starts in her hands and quickly spreads throughout her whole body. All the muscles begin to warm up, everything happening in only milliseconds. Then her arms transform, so they can carry her weight when she begins to flap her wings. This enables her to pull her knees up and then her whole body changes into one of a bird.

Alma is relieved that everything went alright so far and in the corner of her eye she can see Emma and Enoch watching her intently.

But at the moment when the transformation is complete and Alma already thought about flying around she feels a sudden wave of pain hitting her body. Abruptly all her muscles begin to feel weak and she begins to tumble towards the ground.

Emma and Enoch approach her in fear. Emma wants to catch her ymbryne before she hits the ground. But Miss Peregrine keeps flapping her wings and screeches for her to go away.

She knows that she has to transform back into her human body as soon as possible. If she stays like this she doesn't know when she will be able to turn back and that can get dangerous.

Again, Miss Peregrine concentrates really hard and takes as much energy as she's got. So just as she lands on the ground she manages to force herself back into her human form.

Panting heavily she half sits half lies on the ground. Quickly Emma takes one blanket from the couch and covers her naked ymbryne with it, who has already started to shake violently.

"Miss P!" she exclaims. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Enoch kneels down next to his ymbryne as well.

"Is it your leg?" he asks calmly. Inwardly he feels terrified but he doesn't want to worry his ymbryne even more.

Weakly, Miss Peregrine shakes her head.

"No, no, it's fine, I guess," she sighs, her eyes still closed. Carefully, she tries to sit up. Then she opens her eyes and takes in the worried faces of her oldest children.

"Miss P., what is wrong?" Emma asks again, she desperately needs to know what's hurting her.

"Don't worry, I'm quite alright," Miss Peregrine says after swallowing hard.

Both of the others look at her in disbelief. Their ymbryne is clearly not fine.

Miss Peregrine lifts the blanket slightly to take a look at her leg. The scar looks alright and she can still move her leg nearly without pain.

"My leg is fine," she sighs. "It's just that my whole body feels sore. It's not really painful, more like stiff and aching muscles after too much work" she quickly assures Emma and Enoch.

"Maybe, you should have asked another ymbryne for assistance after all," Enoch points out.

"Yeah, maybe," Miss Peregrine admits. She's really feeling unwell. Again, it's not a strong pain, but with every single muscle of her body hurting it's terribly uncomfortable and weakening.

Carefully she tries to stand up but must quickly notice that her limbs don't really respond and are too weak.

Gently, Enoch and Emma lift her to her feet.

"Thank you, " Miss Peregrine says. "I think I'd like to lie down for a moment. Afterwards I will surely feel better again."

"Of course, Miss P.," Emma answers and together with Enoch she helps her ymbryne into her bed. After Enoch has left the room to get a heating blanket because Miss Peregrine is still shivering, Emma helps her putting on her night gown and then covers her with a blanket.

"Maybe we should still call another ymbryne," Emma suggests shyly but Miss Peregrine shakes her head.

"I'm fine, Emma, really. I just need some rest," Miss Peregrine explains as Enoch returns and places the heating blanket on top of the other one.

"It probably was just too sudden, maybe you were right, and I should have gotten another ymbryne to help me, to make it more gentle. But now it's over and it worked more or less. It was just too much for my muscles and they need time to relax again, then I will be fine," Miss Peregrine explains and closes her eyes again.

"We could still call Ethan, maybe he can examine you and see if you're really not hurt," Emma suggests again.

"No way!" Miss Peregrine exclaims, looking at her children. "Ethan can't ever know about this, do you understand? It's too risky!"

"Alright, alright, he won't know," Emma quickly assures her and Miss Peregrine nods relieved.

"Ok, then we will let you rest. But call us if you feel worse or if you need anything, alright?" Enoch says.

"I will, thank you," Miss Peregrine whispers before she closes her eyes again, taking some deep calming breaths.

As soon as Enoch and Emma have left her room, they go looking for Olive and Jake to tell them what happened. Of course both of them are really worried as they see them approaching without Miss Peregrine but they soon relax as Enoch explains that Miss Peregrine just needs rest.

Together with the younger ones they go back inside and Emma and Olive start preparing something for lunch. After running around for so long, they are all really hungry.

"Where is Miss P.?" Claire asks concerned after she has cleaned her hands.

"She's in her room and has lied down for a while," Olive explains to her while setting the table.

"Is she sick again?" Bronwyn asks as she has heard their conversation.

"No, no, don't worry, she's just tired, I guess. Maybe she didn't sleep well last night."

Both girls nod in understanding and sit down at the table. Soon the other children show up as well and Emma serves some sandwiches. During the meal more children ask about Miss Peregrine but Enoch manages to calm them down.

After eating something herself, Emma manages everything, making the younger ones do some homework or practice their instruments. Miss Peregrine would want everything to continue as planned and Emma is sure, that she would come out of her room, had she the impression, that they wouldn't do it, no matter her condition.

After Emma has listened to the three youngest playing the recorder, she checks on Miss Peregrine. Luckily their ymbryne has stopped shivering and is now sleeping peacefully, so Emma leaves her to rest some more.

While Olive is helping Claire and the twins with some homework and Hugh, Millard and Fiona are playing a song together, Emma hears the doorbell.

"I'll take it," she exclaims and goes to open the door.

"Oh," she says surprised as she sees Ethan standing in front of the door.

"Hello to you too," Ethan jokes. "Can't I come in?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Emma stammers and lets him enter. Having heard the bell too, Enoch and Jake have come out of their room as well.

"Oh, hello Ethan", Enoch greets him unnaturally friendly, while darting Emma an uncertain glance.

"Well that's a real greeting," Ethan jokes again and smiles at Emma.

Together they stand in the corridor, no one really knowing what to say.

"Um, isn't Alma at home?" Ethan asks finally.

All three teenagers exchange helpless looks.

"Err...," Emma begins. "She is in her room, but she's sleeping."

"Is everything alright?" Ethan asks immediately.

"Yes, everything's fine," Enoch cuts in to help Emma. "She's just tired, as she didn't sleep last night so we told her that we're fine and she can rest now."

"Has she had another nightmare?" Ethan wants to know. He's not sure if to believe this story. From what he knows, Alma would never let her children do everything alone when she's not feeling really bad.

"No, no. But the twins had, so she had to stay with them for half of the night and then Claire and Bronwyn woke up as well and it wasn't easy for her last night, that's all," Emma explains quickly, relieved that she found a good excuse.

"I see, "Ethan answers, now mostly convinced. "I just wanted to check her leg and talk a bit, but that can wait a day longer I suppose. But if you need help with anything I'm happy to replace Alma for the afternoon," he offers.

"That's really nice of you," Emma begins to decline his offer but doesn't get to finish her sentence as they all hear Miss Peregrine's door opening.

Alma has woken up a few minutes ago. Feeling her whole body aching, she slowly remembered what had happened. But thinking about it, she had to notice that she's feeling even stranger than before. All her muscles are feeling very hot and some are starting to cramp from time to time. Hoping to get some new energy, she decides to go to the bathroom and splash some cold water into her face. Wearily she manages to kind of limp towards the door and into the corridor.

As soon as the others hear her door, they turn to look towards it and see Miss Peregrine slowly coming out of her room. Shakily she tries to cross the corridor towards the bathroom.

Immediately, Ethan storms towards her.

"Alma!" he shouts. Miss Peregrine has nearly reached the door and supports herself on the wall until Ethan is there to hold her upright. All of a sudden she feels really worse, her body starts to shake uncontrollably and her knees are about to give in. Alma is glad that Ethan is there to steady her and merely registers that it's the situation she never wanted to happen.

"What's wrong, Alma? What happened to you?" Ethan asks concerned. He just doesn't understand why she is so sick, as she had been completely fine yesterday.

Emma and Enoch have approached the two adults and look at their ymbryne, worried as well as guilty for letting Ethan see her like this.

"I need to lie down again," Miss Peregrine admits weakly and leans completely against Ethan. Without hesitating he lifts her into his arms and carries her into her room, where he gently places her on the bed. Emma and Enoch follow them and stop next to the bed, where Ethan has taken place on the edge. He cups Alma's face with both of his hands and makes her look at him.

"Alma, listen to me," he says. "You need to tell me what happened to you. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong." But Miss Peregrine just groans in response. Her muscles have begun to twitch and she can't make it stop.

Even more worried, Ethan turns towards Emma and Enoch to ask if they know what happened but they just shake their heads. Miss Peregrine said that Ethan can't know the truth ever, but they're still unsure if her current condition would be excuse enough to tell him.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine's body has begun to cramp and she curls into a ball to ease the tension. Ethan keeps talking to her while stroking her back caringly but she doesn't get better and soon the cramps get even worse.

Terrified, Emma and Enoch watch their ymbryne's condition deteriorating. Ethan doesn't seem to know what to do and how can he, when he's got no idea what caused this.

As Miss Peregrine begins to seize, Ethan is immediately there to hold her down, to keep her from harming herself.

"What's happening to her?" Emma cries.

"Enoch, come here, I might need your help," Ethan calls the oldest boy, ignoring Emma's question.

"And Emma go and get my bag, it's in the car."

Emma hesitates for a short moment, she had failed to keep her promise to keep Ethan away from Miss Peregrine, she doesn't want to leave her alone as well.

"Now!" Ethan shouts at her, now clearly nervous himself.

Despite the seizure, Miss Peregrine seems to know exactly what's going on and she can feel what's about to happen. Frantically, she tries to push Ethan away and groans something incomprehensible, clearly meant to make him leave.

But Ethan would never think of that. Just as he realizes that Emma still hasn't left, he takes his eyes off Alma and turns towards Emma to make her realize that his bag is vital at the moment.

As soon as he has turned his head, Alma's movements gets stronger. She starts to move her arms, desperately trying to stop what's coming.

Ethan sees Emma's eyes open in shock and turns back towards Alma, not in any way prepared for what he's going to see.

Miss Peregrine's arms which she has been thrashing around are slowly changing their form and with the next wave of cramps they have transformed into big, dark blue, feathery wings, flapping uncontrollably.

Shocked, Ethan backs away immediately and his repulsion is only reinforced by seeing the woman he loves turning completely into a bird. As fast as he can, he scrambles to his feet and moves away from the bed. He squints his eyes a few times, but there's still the bird in the bed, looking desperately at him but no Alma.

As the bird starts cramping stronger again, he can slowly make out human forms under the blanket and just a couple of seconds later, there's lying Miss Peregrine again, still seizing. But despite all, her gaze is clear and she searches for his eyes, looking at him with regret and pain.

Terrified, Emma runs towards her ymbryne and kneels down next to the bed. Crying, she takes her hands, while Enoch is still holding her body down.

"Do something!" she shouts at Ethan, who's still standing behind her, watching the unfathomable as Miss Peregrine turns once again into a falcon and back.

"You wanted me to get your bag, so you must be able to do something," Emma accuses him.

But Ethan is still speechless, not able to comprehend what's happening around him.

"I can't," he stammers eventually. "I don't know what this is but it's not human."

"But you knew what to do earlier, can't you do the same thing now as well?" Emma cries while watching her ymbryne grow weaker, fighting against the seizures but not able to stop it.

"Please!" Enoch says. "I'm sure that this is hard for you, but can you please at least try and help her," he begs.

Ethan doesn't know what to do. Thinking about it, he knows, that this bird in front of him is the woman he loves, he can still see it in her eyes. And she's suffering badly but still he can't help but feel repulsed by all this.

"Ethan! " Emma shouts now louder and makes Ethan snap out of his thoughts.

"Ok, I'll try," Ethan says quietly and runs out of the room to get his bag.

Emma and Enoch look at each other, kind of relieved but still worried. Miss Peregrine's seizure has stopped for a moment but it's slowly coming back. Luckily, though, she has stopped shapeshifting and stays in her human form.

Soon Ethan comes into the room, let's the bag drop onto the ground, emptying it to search for the right things. Quickly he replaces Emma at Miss Peregrine's side and injects something into her arm.

"I've given her something to calm down. This will take a while until it starts working completely," Ethan explains. "Then she will fall asleep for some time," Ethan adds before leaving the room, totally upset.

Emma and Enoch stay with their ymbryne. Her muscles seem to stop cramping, but as she's now realizing what just happened she struggles to move out of bed to run after Ethan. She has started crying from exhaustion, pain and desperation. Her breathing gets faster until she's nearly hyperventilating. Enoch is still holding her in is arms as Emma strokes her arms and talks to her. Slowly the medication seems to work and she relaxes into Enoch's arms until he can lay her back into her cushions to sleep.

"That was serious," Emma says, taking a deep breath. Enoch nods. They are both relieved that Ethan was able to help their ymbryne but now they have other problems as well.

"I'm going to talk to him," Emma says finally and gets up.

"Ok, I'm staying here," Enoch answers.

"Maybe you should call Miss Avocet now," Emma suggests. "This has already gotten out of control."

"You're right, I will do it now," Enoch says and stands up as Emma leaves the room, Miss Peregrine finally sleeping.


	21. Chapter 11 Part II

**Chapter 11 Part II**

Emma looks everywhere in the house but can't find Ethan nor anyone else. It seems that the children are still outside, so they haven't noticed anything.

To check if Ethan may have left, Emma looks out of the front door but his car is still there. He must be here somewhere then, so Emma exits through the terrace door and looks around the garden. From the left side behind the corner of the house she can hear the children play, so it's very unlikely that Ethan is there.

Emma decides to walk down the small hill behind the treehouse and the vegetable garden, leading to a swampy ground.

And there, behind some bushes, Ethan sits on a bench, bent down slightly, his head in his hands. Carefully, Emma approaches the bench and sits down next to him. For some time neither of them says a word until Ethan looks up at her.

"What the hell is she and how can that be?" Ethan asks, desperately clinging to a last chance of a plausible explanation.

"Please tell me that nothing of that really happened," he sighs as a last resort.

"I think it's best if she explains it herself. But please know, that it has nothing to do with your relationship," Emma answers.

"How can it not, when she has lied to me the whole time," Ethan says angrily while turning to look at Emma.

"I can understand your anger," Emma tries to calm him down.

"But Miss Peregrine didn't have another choice. It's her duty and I'm sure that it wasn't easy for her to lie to you, it must have burdened her incredibly but it had to be like that," Emma explains.

"You always have a choice!" Ethan insists.

"Maybe in your world," Emma keeps arguing. "But in your world humans can't change into birds either."

"No," Ethan sighs and lets his head drop into his hands again.

Compassionately, Emma strokes his back. "Talk to her," she advises in an encouraging voice.

Inside, Enoch has finished talking to Miss Avocet and is now sitting in a chair next to Miss Peregrine's bed, holding her hand.

A couple of minutes ago, she has begun to move again and is now slowly waking up.

"Ethan?" Alma whispers as she's slowly coming to herself and feels someone holding her hand. But as she opens her eyes she sees Enoch looking down at her and can't help feeling a bit disappointed.

"No, I'm sorry," Enoch says quietly. Alma closes her eyes again but begins to remember what has happened. Quickly, she opens them again and wants to get up but feels too weak. Enoch stops her gently and makes her lie down again.

"I've talked to Miss Avocet," Enoch begins to distract her.

"You've what?" Alma asks, giving Enoch one of her death glares.

"It was necessary and you know it," Enoch says calmly. He has stopped being afraid of that look a long time ago and he doesn't let it stop him from telling Miss Peregrine off when he needs to.

Sighing, Alma closes her eyes and relaxes again. She knows as well that this could have ended a lot worse and that it was unreasonable to do it without the help of another ymbryne.

"She said, that you were really lucky and that it was serious and that you should have called her for help. In fact I had to talk her out of leaving everything behind and coming immediately as she was so worried about you," Enoch explains.

"But that's ridiculous," Alma cuts in. "It's so much more dangerous for her, she would risk aging forward when doing such a long trip!"

"Exactly. That's the reason why I was able to stop her," Enoch answers.

"But she will be calling again to see how you are and she said, that you need to rest a lot but at the same time you need to practice the transformations regularly if you want to get back to how it was before your accident."

"Ok," Alma sighs. She has known that she has to do something like that and she's already afraid of it as it won't be painless in her current state. "How often?" she asks her boy.

"At least once a day, in the beginning it's best to do it twice and later it's enough to do it every second day," Enoch repeats what Miss Avocet has told him. "But for now, you should rest some time until you try it again."

Alma nods groggily before she realizes what she wanted to do before Enoch started talking about Miss Avocet.

"What's about Ethan?" she asks worried. She still sees his shocked expression as he was looking at her earlier. She has dealt with multiple normals before and she has seen so many reactions but nothing was like that. The way Ethan looked at her, so confused, shocked, hurt and even repulsed.

"Emma is with him," Enoch interrupts her thoughts.

"Ok," she sighs. She wants nothing more than to talk to Ethan but her whole body feels so sore and weak that she's a bit relieved that Enoch wouldn't let her go anyway. And at least Emma is with him. Exhausted, Alma closes her eyes again and soon she falls asleep.

Enoch, who didn't want to leave her earlier is now quite relieved to have seen her awake. Now he feels comfortable to leave and only check on her from time to time.

In the living room, Enoch meets Jake and Olive who have started preparing something to eat. The other children are running in and out of their rooms.

"Oh, Enoch," Olive calls him as she sees him coming.

"What happened, you and Emma were suddenly gone and then I saw Ethan outside. He seemed upset. Is Miss P. alright?" Olive asks concerned.

Also Jake looks at Enoch expectantly. "She's fine now I guess. We had a bit of a disaster earlier with the result that Ethan saw Miss P. transforming," Enoch explains.

"What?" Olive and Jake ask in unison. "How could that happen?"

"Miss Peregrine's earlier transformation had some aftereffects and made her really sick. Then, as Ethan was with her, she transformed uncontrollably. Luckily, Ethan was able to treat her somehow as it was really scary, seeing her like this. But for him it was a real shock. Emma is now talking to him," Enoch sums up the whole story as best as he can.

"Oh my god," Olive sighs. "What a story..." Jake adds. None of them has thought of something like that when they asked Enoch.

"Do you think he will be alright?" Jake asks worried and Enoch shrugs. "I don't know, he looked pretty shocked. But let's see what Emma can do." Olive and Jake both agree.

"And Miss P. is really alright?" Olive asks then. "I hope so," Enoch answers honestly. "She had multiple seizures before Enoch gave her something, then she slept but I just talked to her and it seems that she's ok now."

Olive just wanted to ask about more details but suddenly the terrace door opens and Emma enters the living room, followed by a terrible looking Ethan. All of them can only imagine how he must feel at the moment. No one knows what to say, so they all look at Emma for support, but she just shakes her head, indicating that there's nothing to talk to him about at the moment. Luckily they are all saved by their younger siblings, who come running into the room.

"Oh, Ethan, you're here," Claire exclaims happily. She's wearing one of her princess dresses as well as Bronwyn, who comes after her.

"Yay, can you play with us?" she asks enthusiastically.

"I'm sorry girls, but not today," Ethan says and wants to go to the front door.

"Don't you want to stay for dinner?" Olive asks quickly. "I'm sure Miss Peregrine would love that," Emma adds carefully as she sees Ethan hesitating.

"Oh, is that so?" he asks sarcastically and turns around to look at the teenagers standing next to the dining table. "And who asks what I would like to do?"

"We're sorry," Olive says. All of them look down at the ground.

"Maybe you can understand it better when you've talked to her," Jake suggests.

To change the subject and to save Ethan from the need to answer, Emma starts talking to Enoch.

"How is she doing?" she asks him. It wasn't easy for her to leave her ymbryne back earlier but she knew that Miss Peregrine's first priority would have been Ethan.

"She slept for some time and as she woke up it was much better," Enoch reports and Emma nods relieved.

This new subject ripped Ethan out of his self-pity and he remembers that the woman he loves has been seriously sick.

"Has she had any more seizures?" Ethan asks Enoch concerned again. Enoch shakes his head. "No, luckily not," he says. "Thank you for helping her!"

"Yes thank you!" the others say as well. Now Ethan feels slightly ashamed. Miss Peregrine means everything to these children and she had been in a dangerous state earlier, while all he was thinking about was how she lied to him. If something had happened to her, Ethan would have never forgiven himself.

"Of course," he just says and looks at the ground.

"So let's just eat together and afterwards everything will seem easier," Emma suggests.

And Emma was right. As soon as all the younger children join them on the table, the atmosphere gets lighter again.

"Ethan," Hugh calls across the table. "You definitely have to see my new trick. We will have a home match in two weeks, maybe you can come and watch as well."

"I would love to, Hugh," Ethan answers honestly. No matter what happened between him and Alma, he still likes all the children like he has before.

"Just let me know when and where it will be."

"Ok," Hugh answers happily before filling his mouth with some noodles.

"Oh, yes, Ethan! Will you come as well when we'll have a competition?" Claire wants to know.

"Of course I will," Ethan assures her and the girls smile at him.

After the meal, the boys clear the table as Emma and Olive take care of the younger ones. They don't want to go to bed without a movie, but Emma can convince them that it will also be fun to read a story together in one of their rooms. Of course, Millard Hugh and Horace are not so enthusiastic about it as the younger ones and girls, so they quickly disappear into their room to read their own books before getting ready for bed.

Soon it gets quiet in the living room, as also Jake and Enoch have joined their girls. The only one who's still sitting at the table is Ethan. Emma had offered him one of Miss Peregrine's wines, that he gladly accepted. Now he's sipping at his glass, thinking about everything that happened and what he expects from another talk with Alma.

Just as he wants to fill up his glass once more, Ethan hears something from behind and turns around to see Alma coming out of her room.

She's incredibly weak and tries to make her way through the corridor into the living room holding onto everything in her way for support. Not thinking about his earlier feelings, Ethan jumps to his feet and runs towards Alma to catch her before she falls to the ground.

"I'm sorry," Miss Peregrine says while holding onto Ethan's strong arms. She tries hard not to lean her head against his chest, even if her whole body longs for his support and warmth. At the moment she's just happy, that Ethan hasn't left yet.

"Let's get you to bed first," Ethan answers dryly and helps Alma back to her room, where she lies back down and Ethan takes his seat in the chair next to the bed.

For some time no one says a word, both unsure how to begin.

"I don't know where to start..." Alma tries to formulate an excuse.

"In the beginning would be good," Ethan retorts almost coldly, which hurts Alma deeply. But she just swallows and keeps talking.

"It's not as easy as you might think," she begins to explain.

"I'm not thinking anything, believe me," Ethan says waiting for Alma to start.

"It all began when I was 3 years old. My parents couldn't cope with children, that were different," Alma explains. " So my brothers and me came to an orphanage where all the others were like us."

"Birds?" Ethan asks incredulously. He is just about getting used to the thought of Alma as a bird and now there are even more people like this.

"No, not birds but different," Alma sighs and closes her eyes while brushing her hair out of her face.

"I can't, Ethan," she says then. "I don't know how..."

"Just keep talking Alma, it's already crazy enough so it can't get any worse," Ethan says, now getting slightly impatient.

"Ok," Alma sighs before taking a deep breath.

"This orphanage was for peculiar children, like me and my brothers and it was one of many others. These institutions are unknown to normal people and they are managed by more experienced women, called ymbrynes."

"And what's that now?" Ethan asks confused.

"That are women like me, who have the same ability," Miss Peregrine explains. She has told these things to so many people in her life but this time it's different.

"You mean they all change into birds from time to time and keep it a secret from their partner?" Ethan guesses sarcastically.

"Not exactly," Alma says deliberately ignoring his other comment. She knows that she has hurt him but that's something she has to fix later. "Yes they can turn into birds, but normally it happens only when you want it to. This earlier wasn't supposed to happen but that's another story."

"Ok, ok, one at a time."

"Yes," Alma agrees. "So these women can transform into birds among other things and they look after all the children in their orphanage, much like I do here."

"Does that mean, that all your children are...?" Ethan cuts in and Alma nods.

"They are different, or like we say peculiar."

"What exactly does that mean?" Ethan asks confused by this term.

"They are in multiple ways different compared to normal children but I'm sure you will see soon enough. Anyway, I grew up in this orphanage and as my abilities began to show, they noticed that I will be able to become an ymbryne one day and they started training me until I was old enough to manage an orphanage on my own," Alma explains.

Slowly Ethan tries to understand, what she has just told him.

"So there are many orphanages with strange children and women, who turn into birds?"

"I would prefer if you don't call them strange," Alma corrects him. "But yes, that sums it up. Although there used to be more orphanages but after some sort of war many of the children died."

"And where do all these children come from? And how come no one knows about these things?" Ethan keeps asking. He's still too confused.

"They are born like all other children. But as they are not necessarily born to peculiar parents they are usually unaccepted in the society, abused or simply abandoned. And that's another duty of an ymbryne. We find these children and bring them to one of the orphanages."

"And people never notice you or ask questions?" Ethan asks doubtfully.

"We have our ways to deal with them," Alma tries to answer his question without saying too much for now. Of course she would never lie to Ethan again if he decides to still spend time with them in the future. But first she doesn't know how he'll decide and second, she doesn't want to overwhelm him with too much information now.

"Ok, I'm not sure if I want to know about it," Ethan answers unsure.

"It's nothing bad, trust me," Alma assures him and Ethan nods.

"So, you pick up these children somewhere and care for them. I think I can understand that somehow but why do you turn into a bird and how did you hide it from me? I mean, I was with you for days when you were in the hospital. Why did it happen this morning and not then?" Ethan asks confused again.

Alma sighs before answering.

"That I can transform into a bird is how I was born and it's the main criteria of an ymbryne. It enables us to do other things, which can get necessary when protecting all these children. But normally we don't transform very often. You just do it from time to time to keep your body used to it."

"But then I don't understand it...," Ethan starts again but Alma cuts in.

"Yes, I'm coming to that. When I had the accident I couldn't transform as long as I was injured."

"Which was very long," Ethan adds, now guessing what Alma wants to say.

"Exactly. In fact my peculiarity may even be the cause for that as well. I'm not sure and I've never heard of anything like it but Enoch, Emma and I were guessing that my body healed unusually slowly because it's so changeable but that again is another story."

Confused Ethan tries to follow Alma's explanations but for the first time today he finally begins to understand at least one mystery about this woman, something that seemed so unexplainable as they talked to the doctors in the hospital.

"Anyway, I wasn't able to transform for some months and after my leg had healed I decided this morning to try the transformation, not knowing if it will work."

"And that's what caused your seizures?" Ethan asks.

"I think so yes. I was able to transform into my bird form and back but it left my body quite sore and weak. That's when you saw me. I don't know what happened then but I think that these cramps have been the aftereffects of the unhealthy transformation this morning."

Ethan takes a deep breath. All of this is just crazy! He knows so much about science and the human body, how can what he learned today be possible? But it was real, he saw it. And it seemed so painful for Alma. For a short moment all his anger and confusion is replaced by worry again. He had seen Alma seizing and normally her alarming state would have been reason enough to call an ambulance. He can just be lucky that nothing else happened and that she is now awake and talking to him.

"How are you feeling now?" he asks concerned.

"My muscles are still sore and weak but I think it's over now and I will soon be fine again," Alma guesses.

Relieved, Ethan nods and stands up.

"Where are you going?" Alma asks immediately.

"I'm sorry, Alma. I can't do that. I'm really happy that you're feeling better but I just can't."

Shocked Alma looks back at him. Of course she knows that this is too much to understand immediately and that she has really hurt him but it went so gut the last few minutes and now he just wants to leave?

"It feels like I don't know you," Ethan raises his voice. Now as he can be quite sure that Alma will be fine all his anger returns at once.

"What was that for you, our relationship?" Ethan snaps at her.

"This has nothing to do with us!" Alma desperately wants him to understand that.

"No?" Ethan asks back angrily. "How can you hide something so important from me and then tell me it has got nothing to do with us?"

He walks around the small room and runs his fingers through his hair. He didn't want to shout at her but this is just too much for him.

"Was our relationship just a game to you? We never had a future together like this!"

Alma shakes her head but she doesn't know what to do.

"Our whole relationship was based on a lie, Alma! And you can't tell me that it has nothing to do with us."

"But you have to understand! It wasn't my wish to keep it from you. But no ymbryne is allowed to tell someone as her first priority is the safety of her children," Alma tries to explain.

"Do you think you should protect them from me? That's ridiculous, Alma!" Ethan argues.

"No, Ethan! Of course not! But all ymbrynes learn in their training that it's safest for all peculiars when we keep it a secret."

"That might be right and everything, but one thing I don't get. Why couldn't you trust me? That's the basis for every relationship. Did you think I would tell everyone I know as soon as you tell me?" 'Ethan accuses her.

"No Ethan, don't say it like that. Can't you understand me at all? There were so many reasons and I thought about telling you a lot. But first, it's not desired that ymbrynes tell others and then I didn't want to involve you in everything as it has been quite dangerous lately. Furthermore it's always the same: Who wouldn't tell something like that during the first meeting and than the more time passes, the harder it gets."

"I'm not sure if I can understand you, Alma. All these things sound more like excuses to me than real reasons."

"That's a bit unfair, Ethan, don't you think?" Alma retorts. "I know that I've made a mistake and I'm really sorry. But you have to know that I've always trusted you with my life as well as the lives of my children. I don't know...keeping it a secret is rooted in our society like nothing else. All of the children have been through so much before they were found and if the whole world would know about it, the few peculiars of us would be persecuted or whatever. That's the reason why the ymbryne council decided to handle it this way."

Ethan wants to say something but Alma cuts him off.

" I know that you would never betray us like that but it's like it is. Normally, we live quite isolated and have no contact to others, so no other ymbryne has been in a situation like this. And Ethan, before you say something. I know that it's no excuse either but we've been through so much before we came here. All of us nearly died, I couldn't protect my children and when we came here I couldn't risk anything."

"But Alma, that's the thing. Why do you think that telling me would be a risk?"

"I don't Ethan, honestly. But I came here with the intention to do everything to keep us save, including keeping it a secret. Of course that changed when we two got closer but I really thought that it would be best to leave it the way it was before. Maybe I was a coward and I was afraid of losing you. But I really wanted to protect you as well."

"Did you really think, that we could be together like that. That you could live a double life, one with me and then one where you don't hide your secrets?"

"And that's it, Ethan. We have to live this double life anyway. It was a mistake and I know that now but I told myself that our secrets are something we should try to abandon from our daily life as best as we can and don't let it be a part of it anymore. Then everything will be easier. Of course I could have made an exception with you but I was convinced that it's easier for everyone when we go through with it completely. Where do you draw the line. When I would have told you, some of the children would have wanted to tell one of their friends and so on. And that's definitely not possible, so I had to stick to my own rules. It doesn't mean that I didn't want to tell you, though."

"That's all very well but it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me and that I didn't know the real you even after being together with you for some months. I can't forget that so quickly. And then you tell me all this crazy stuff. I'm sorry Alma, I need time," Ethan says and then turns around and leaves her room.

Shocked, Alma watches her door closing loudly. She desperately wants to follow him but she still feels too weak and besides, she has said everything she can and talking more about it won't change a thing. She needs to give Ethan the time he needs. And if he'll decide that he can't forgive her, she has to accept that.

Nonetheless, it hurts that Ethan has left like that. And only the possibility of him never coming back breaks her heart.

It's strange that she of all women feels like this. So many years she has lived without a partner, so sure that she had everything in her life. And now after only some months with Ethan, living without him again seems so impossible. And that's why Alma can't stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks. Exhausted and heartbroken she lies down again and curls into a ball, crying silently.


	22. Chapter 11 Part III

**Chapter 11 Part III**

Meanwhile, Ethan storms through the living room. All of the children are in their rooms and some of them are surely sleeping by now. Therefore Ethan regrets slamming the door behind himself but he needed some way to get rid of his anger. Quickly he grabs his jacket and leaves through the front door, not knowing that Emma is sitting on the couch watching him.

Sad that Ethan and Miss Peregrine didn't make up, she stands up from her seat. She has really hoped, that Ethan will understand her ymbryne when she explains everything. Slowly Emma walks towards Miss Peregrine's room. She must be devastated. First these horrible seizures and then the fight with Ethan. Listening at the door, Emma can hear her crying. She hesitates for a moment, not wanting to invade her privacy, but then she thinks better of it. Her ymbryne is always there for her when she needs it. And Emma is sure that she wouldn't want to be alone in this situation.

Quietly she opens the door and approaches Miss Peregrine, who has her back turned towards her. As she gently strokes her back, Miss Peregrine jumps slightly because she hasn't heard her coming but then she turns around to look at Emma. At seeing her tear-stained cheeks and her red eyes, Emma can't help embracing her in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry Miss P." Emma says as her ymbryne starts sobbing into her shoulder. Emma stays with her for some time, trying to comfort her as best as she can but it doesn't work and Miss Peregrine eventually cries herself to sleep. As Emma feels her ymbryne relaxing and breathing evenly, she lays her back down on her cushion and covers her with the blanket before leaving her alone.

It wasn't easy at all, seeing her strong ymbryne like that. And she really feels for her as she knows how important Ethan is to her. And it's just so unfair. Miss Peregrine has done it to protect all of them and again she put them first and now she's the one suffering. She deserves better and Emma hopes with all her heart that Ethan will forgive her.

Not able to go to sleep immediately, Emma sneaks into the boys bedroom and crawls into Jakes bed. She needs someone to talk to. Jake hasn't been asleep yet and welcomes her in his arms. As Emma begins to cry silently as well Jake tightens his embrace and asks her what's wrong. As Emma tells him everything he is a bit relieved that everything is ok with her but he can understand her reaction. He as well wants Miss Peregrine to be happy and has seen how good Ethan was for her.

After they talk for a while and Jake manages to convince Emma that everything will be alright in the end, they fall asleep together.

Only Enoch lies still awake. He has heard everything but didn't want to disturb them by joining their conversation. All Jakes arguments sounded plausible but Enoch still worries what will happen with their ymbryne if Ethan can't forgive her.

There was a time when Enoch wished for them to break up but he has long changed his mind. Even if a little help from the girls was necessary, he now sees as well that Miss Peregrine needs him. And he understands it so much. He could never imagine a life without his Olive as well. Enoch just hopes that the two will be able to get through this and will be happy again. And after another hour, he finally falls asleep as well.

The next days are characterized by a glumly mood. Although Miss Peregrine's body recovers very quickly, her heart doesn't. She does all her duties like always but every free minute, she spends alone in her room. Miss Avocet has called several times to asks about her condition but Miss Peregrine managed to reassure her, that she's fine. Nonetheless Miss Avocet keeps giving her advise and reminds her to transform often enough. Therefore, every day Alma forces herself to transform into her birdform despite the pain and flies around for some time. First just in the garden and later further away. But she does it emotionlessly. The feeling of liberty she used to feel every time she flew around is gone. She just does it because she has to and that's it.

The smaller children don't really notice the change and they don't know about the argument with Ethan. And even his absence doesn't alarm them as there have always been times when he was busy and didn't visit for some days in a row.

Only that Miss Peregrine doesn't laugh anymore is something all of them notice as it changes the whole atmosphere in the house. But none of them ask about it.

Even Emma hasn't talked to Miss Peregrine since she cried in her arms. Of course she wants to be there for her ymbryne but if Miss Peregrine doesn't want to talk about it, it's best not to bring it up.

So all of them carry on like nothing has happened and hope that Miss Peregrine will get better on her own. But the fact that Catherine has left to visit her mother for the week isn't helping either.

This continues until one morning. After the children have left for school, Alma has cleaned the living room and went for another flight. By now it doesn't hurt anymore when she transforms but it's still more exhausting than it used to be. Now Alma is just doing the laundry as she hears the doorbell ringing.

Nervously, Alma walks towards the door. She doesn't know who might stop by this early, especially as Catherine still hasn't returned. Of course she hopes desperately that it might be Ethan, but she has given up that thought long ago after she has stormed to the door only to find the postman or an advertisement salesman looking back at her.

Only this time, it's different. As she opens the door she sees Ethan standing on the porch, his head bowed.

Without saying a word, Alma takes a step aside to let him in. Then she follows him into the living room.

"Sit down," she says and points at the couch.

"Do you want to drink anything?"

"No, thanks," Ethan answers and sits down on the couch. Nonetheless, Alma takes a bottle of water and two glasses from the dining table and takes her seat on the opposite couch. But she doesn't say anything. She doesn't know what to say as she has explained everything over and over again. Now it's Ethan's turn to say what he needs to say. But he stays silent as well, looking at his hands in his lap.

Finally, he looks up at her and it hurts him what he sees. She looks pale and tired as if she hasn't slept at all. But he wasn't better off, also lying awake all night for the last days.

"I'm sorry Alma, that I left you alone when you were feeling unwell. That wasn't a nice way and I'm seriously ashamed of it," Ethan starts.

"It's alright," Alma plays down the issue. Of course she was terribly hurt at the time but she can understand that he needed time.

"No, it wasn't," Ethan insists. "But it was all just too much to cope and I was hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me," he explains his feelings.

"I'm so sorry, Ethan. The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt you," Alma says sadly.

"I know that now, Alma," Ethan interrupts her. "I've thought a lot about it during the last days. And just the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about you, shows how important you are to me. I love you, Alma!" Ethan exclaims and looks her directly in the eyes.

Alma is surprised to hear this as they've never used the word love before. Shocked and speechless she looks back at him as he continues.

"And even if all this stuff you told me is unbelievably messing with my head and I have no idea how to handle it, I would love to try. After all, it wasn't your choice to be like you are and it shouldn't matter as you're the one I want."

Finally Alma finds her voice again. "What? Are you sure?" she asks not really able to believe that this is really happening.

"I could never imagine living without you ever again, so I've got no choice, haven't I?" Ethan jokes and for the first time today his lips curl up into a smile.

Totally relieved and so happy as all the load of the last days has been taken from her Alma laughs out, walks over to him and flings her arms around his neck.

"Thank you," she manages to say while burying her head in his shoulder. "I feel exactly the same and I'm sooo sorry!"

"It's alright, Alma, really!" Ethan assures her and kisses her on the head. How he missed her! Her smell and her beautiful smooth black hair and especially her smile. In this moment Ethan swears to himself that he will never want to be responsible for her not smiling ever again.

"I will never keep a secret from you again," Alma promises.

"Don't promise something you can't keep," Ethan laughs while grabbing Alma's shoulders and holding her in front of him. "Every woman needs her own little secrets! But I'm happy when you tell me everything that's important from now on."

"Promised!" Alma manages to say before Ethan kisses her passionately.

"But for now, I want you to explain everything about you, your children and your world in detail," Ethan says as they break the kiss to catch their breath.

"That's arrangeable," Alma smiles and turns around to lean back into Ethan's arm.

For the next hours they keep talking. Ethan is amazed by how much there is in this world that normal people never get to know about and he really feels for Alma as he learns about everything she has been through in her life.

Around lunchtime, the younger children come home from school. Immediately they notice the changed atmosphere and are happy to see their ymbryne happy again.

As also the teenagers arrive at home, Alma tells them all that Ethan now knows their secret. Of course the older ones are relieved about their reunion and give Ethan a happy smile.

Miss Peregrine tells them that Ethan is curious about all their peculiarities and asks them to show them to him. Enthusiastically all of them present their skills to Ethan, the little ones even fighting about who's first.

Ethan really enjoys the show, it feels like a private performance just for him and he's amazed by what they can do. It's so magical and unexplainable for a scientist like him. He's especially interested in Emma's, Olive's and Enoch's ability and of course Millard's. And finally he gets to know why the twins and Millard have to wear their costumes and he even pities them.

Of course Millard is more than relieved that he doesn't have to wear his overall at home anymore and also the twins are happy that they can talk to each other again in their own language and don't have to play mute at home too. Cheerfully they climb on Miss Peregrine's lap and start making noises. Lovingly she looks at them while patting their heads.

Ethan is overwhelmed by this gesture. He has seen before that all the children are close to Alma but only now he understands this special bond in this unusual family.

Then he sees Fiona's peculiarity and is so excited that he tells her to come to his garden as well and help him with some plants, which she gladly does.

Furthermore Ethan is fascinated by Claire's backmouth, never had he thought that such a lovely little girl could be so dangerous.

The rest of the afternoon they spend talking a lot and Ethan asks everything he'd like to know about their daily life with their peculiarities.

How Emma can sit and sleep without starting to float, when Claire eats with her backmouth or her other one, if Millard knows how he looks himself and if Olive can take a shower without her gloves.

Even if he was sceptical in the beginning, he now feels grateful that he belongs to the few people in the whole world, who get to know about all this.

Afterwards the teenagers start cooking dinner because they want to give their ymbryne and Ethan time for themselves after making up.

During the meal the atmosphere at the table is as relaxed and happy as never before, now that Ethan really belongs to their family and no one has to take care what he says or does that could give them away.

Afterwards they watch a short movie, all huddled together on the couches.

Alma lies in Ethan arms and has Claire sitting on her lap. But soon Claire leans back against her chest and falls asleep. For Ethan it's the most adorable thing he's ever seen: The woman he loves, lying in his arms with her sleeping girl and they're surrounded by so many children he learned to love as if they were his own. Had someone told him one year ago that he will now have a woman and 12 children he would have admitted him to a mental hospital. But now it feels like the most normal thing he knows.

As the movie finishes, Ethan carries Claire to her bed while Alma tucks in the twins and Bronwyn. After all the other children got ready for bed, they are both left in the living room together.

"Thank you for this wonderful day!" Ethan says while embracing Alma and kissing her forehead.

"No! Thank you," Alma retorts and looks him in the eyes. "I'm so grateful that you could forgive me and that you are happy when you are with us. My children have experienced so many ugly reactions towards them, that it would have broken my heart to tell them that you don't want to spend any time with us anymore."

"Never!" Ethan assures her and then lifts her up to carry her into her bedroom. After talking some more they spend the night together as a real couple without any secrets and for them both it feels as if they've never been this close, now that nothing stands between them anymore.


	23. Chapter 12 Part I

**Chapter 12**

During the next weeks the life for Ethan and the peculiars settles down again. As it has been quite exciting in the beginning for them all it slowly gets normal for Ethan, for example to see an invisible boy walking around or another one swallowing bees from time to time. But still every day he spends with them, Ethan learns new things about their peculiar world. Though he keeps asking himself how he could not have noticed anything before as everything seems so obvious now.

Also the relationship with Alma has improved a lot. They have been close before but now it feels different. Only the words "I love you" can change so much. And also that Alma confides in him and tells him about her difficult past and the relationship she had with her brothers makes a real difference. It really hurts Ethan to hear about all that and assures Alma that he will always be there for her and that nothing like that will ever happen again.

And also Alma's transformations don't bother Ethan anymore. Admittedly he didn't feel comfortable seeing her like that in the beginning. But he got over it and told Alma that he wants to be with her when she transforms to get used to it. And very soon he felt that it only makes her more special and not repellent at all. Secretly Ethan even envies her for being so free.

Sometimes they even play little games. Like when Alma meets Ethan in his lunch break to go to a restaurant or something. Then she would fly all the way to his office and when she's early she would wait in front of the window to his exam rooms and watch him talking to patients. Usually Ethan notices her soon and has to concentrate hard not to laugh in front of his patient.

Only the stuff with the loops and the time travel is still messing with Ethan's head. He just can't imagine that this young and beautiful woman in front of him is really supposed to be more than a hundred years old. But it will only take a bit more time until that as well will get normal for him.

For the children it soon feels so normal with Ethan around as if it had never been different. They are all busy with school again and really missing the summer holidays. But as the summer slowly comes to an end, their trips to the beach or elsewhere get less frequent.

Therefore Enoch finally finds enough time to get on with his driving license. After his birthday there was a lot to do in school, then Miss Peregrine had her accident and he didn't have time for anything else and then in the summer he wanted to enjoy the free time for himself.

But know he can really concentrate on it. He has already completed his theoretical lessons and is currently learning for the examination. He even has had 2 driving lessons, which he really enjoyed. All the time in their old loop he had been interested in driving a car and he even once tried it during one of their 'raid the village' tours as he found an old one standing in a garage. But now here with a modern car it's so much cooler.

Though he doesn't enjoy all the time he has to spend studying. There are only a couple of days left until his examination and there are still some things he doesn't know. Luckily everyone is really supportive. Miss Peregrine has relieved him of most of his duties in the house and tests him whenever she has some free time. And especially Olive helps him a lot by learning with him and testing him. She just knows the most creative ways to memorize things. Mostly they just laugh the whole time but Olive says that the more emotions are involved the better your brain can remember the stuff you learn.

But also Olive doesn't have too much time as she has started working on her peculiarity with Miss Peregrine. Now as Miss Peregrine is feeling really good again, she said it was time to start, which made Olive really happy. She just can't wait until the day she will be able to really feel Enoch.

This time there is just one rule: Miss Peregrine wants to be with Olive the whole time and she's not allowed to take off her gloves when she's alone. Safety has to come first, Miss Peregrine always says.

In the beginning she lets Olive touch different things without her gloves. First just cold or wet stuff and later dry things. Miss Peregrine wants her to concentrate hard on what she's doing but as it works quite good, she distracts her by talking to her or making her answer questions.

Together they are practicing every day for about one hour. In Miss Peregrine's opinion only regularity brings the desired progress. And she is right. Of course there are setbacks and it can't go as fast as Olive wishes but she makes progress very soon.

After some sessions without a major fire, Miss Peregrine lets Olive do things with the objects and not just touch them. Like this Olive concentrates more on the task itself than the object she uses. At first it's really hard for Olive as Miss Peregrine doesn't choose easy tasks. They require subtlety and highest concentration so that Olive has no chance of concentrating on the regulation of her peculiarity. But soon she can also do it absentmindedly and Miss Peregrine is really proud of her girl. Not everyone has the mental strength to control his own peculiarity on such a high level. But had she not been sure that Olive can learn it, she wouldn't have suggested this idea, it would have been too disappointing.

Now Olive is allowed to spend several hours of the day without the gloves but only at home and not in school or elsewhere. All the other children see her progress and are so happy for their sister.

But even if Olive has gotten so much better she still doesn't dare to touch Enoch. By no means does she want to hurt him even if he has told her several times that it wouldn't be a big deal as she's still learning and he wants to help her as best as he can.

But Olive declined his offer and trusts Miss Peregrine's judgement. She always reminds her that it will be completely different from their lessons because in an intimate situation she will be emotionally challenged on a whole other level and practicing with objects just can't simulate that.

Therefore Miss Peregrine offers her help again. So after Olive has had another week without a bad incident Miss Peregrine lets Olive touch her. Again in the beginning she lets Olive concentrate on it but soon she begins to distract her by talking or letting her do her homework at the same time.

A couple of times Olive starts losing her balance but then Miss Peregrine warns her that her hands start getting warmer. Only one time Olive was so distracted that she burned one of Miss Peregrine's fingers. Olive was so sorry and felt really guilty but Miss Peregrine just held her hand under the cold water for a minute and said smiling to Olive that it's no big deal before they kept practicing.

As Olive has completed all the tasks Miss Peregrine had given her both of them start looking for another way to challenge her even more. With the objects it was easy to find something she could do with them but what could Olive do with Miss Peregrine's hands that needs her concentration?

They tried painting her nails with nail polish but it wasn't complicated enough.

One afternoon after school they are sitting in the living room again, thinking about what to do. Enoch went to his last training session at the driving school. And Jake and Emma had offered to take the boys to the soccer training so Miss Peregrine has the time to practice with Olive.

Fiona is in her room finishing her homework and also Horace is absent, probably knitting something as he has asked Miss Peregrine for some new wool only a few days ago.

But Claire and Bronwyn are running around in the house, playing games. Multiple times, Miss Peregrine has told them to be quiet or go into their room so they don't disturb them but so far it hasn't worked and from time to time the girls are still running through the living room.

Olive doesn't mind though but she can understand her ymbryne as well, who has had another stressful day and would love to have some silence for once. So while Olive tries different hairstyles on her, Alma keeps touching the muscles of the back of her neck. She really enjoys the light head massage which is the side effect of having her hair plaited but it doesn't ease her back pain.

Olive, who notices it, finishes with the plait and then let's her hands slide down Miss Peregrine's neck to start massaging her.

"Oh Olive," Miss Peregrine moans. "That's really good."

"If you want, I can massage you for some time, I guess it's as good a task as any other we thought of lately," Olive suggests

"That's a great idea, Olive. Why haven't I thought of it?" Miss peregrine laughs and shifts on her seat so Olive can better reach her back. Olive laughs as well.

"Probably because you would never ask this of one of us," she teases her headmistress.

"Probably," Miss Peregrine admits but lets her head fall forward, enjoying Olive's massage.

"But is this really alright for you, Olive? I wouldn't want to take advantage of you," she remarks.

"Of course it's alright, Miss P." Olive answers slightly offended. "You're spending so much time with me to help me. Let me at least give you something back. Besides, this is even a better task than doing your hair, don't you think?"

"Yes, you're right," Miss Peregrine explains but winces slightly as Olive touches a particularly sore spot.

"Maybe it's best if you lie down," Olive suggests. Alma wants to agree but is interrupted by Claire and Bronwyn storming through their door.

"Miss P.!" Claire whines and approaches her ymbryne, who turns back around, which forces Olive to stop her massage. Olive gives her little sisters an annoyed glare. She just doesn't understand why they don't get it and see that Miss Peregrine needs to relax too. She is sure that she had been more empathetic, even at such a young age.

"What is it?" Miss Peregrine sighs as both girls stand in front of her.

"Claire took my favourite doll away and now she doesn't want to give it back," Bronwyn explains.

"That's not right!" Claire cuts in. "She agreed to swap toys with me for a few days and now she can't just have it back."

"Girls, girls, slowly," Alma tells them. "Why do you want to play with the same doll anyway. Isn't it boring?"

"No it's not!" Claire pouts. "Exactly and it's my doll, so I can decide who plays with it," Bronwyn states.

"No!" Claire exclaims and hides the doll in her small arms. Bronwyn tries to reach her toy and wants to rip it out of Claire's arms, who starts squealing.

"Girls!" Alma shouts and both of them stop in their tracks. Rarely Miss Peregrine gets loud but today she had enough. Not only that she had an especially exhausting day but she has told the girls to be quiet all afternoon and now such an childish fight.

"I'm sorry for this reaction but can't you argue it out between yourself?" she asks them. But both girls shake their heads and want to start fighting again. Luckily Olive reacts quickly and separates the two younger ones.

"It's my doll!" Bronwyn exclaims angrily.

"But you gave it to me, you can't just change your mind all the time," Claire retorts.

"Ok, listen to me," Miss Peregrine interrupts their renewed argument.

"I understand that you want to play with your own doll, Bronwyn. But I have to agree with Claire this time. If you really decided to swap your toys you have to stick to your word and can't just take it back when you feel like it."

"But..." Bronwyn wants to say but Miss Peregrine raises a warning finger to silence her.

"And Claire, I understand that you're disappointed. But you have to learn that you can't always count on something that was once agreed. Sometimes elements change and it requires a new decision about things. This time I agree with you but please think about it next time and don't react like a petulant child when it isn't like you want it to be."

Both girls nod, Bronwyn disappointed and Claire smirking. As they turn around to go back into their room Claire sticks out her tongue at Bronwyn.

"I saw that, Claire!" Miss Peregrine warns and the two girls hurry into their room to avoid another lecture.

Sighing, Miss Peregrine turns back towards Olive. "Ok, we've settled that I guess."

Even if it's not really funny, Olive can't help but grin a bit. You just can't get a calm moment here in the house.

"Yes and I don't think that they will come back, you've scared them a bit," Olive remarks smiling.

"Oh, I didn't want to but it just happened," Miss Peregrine complains.

"You don't have to apologize, Miss P," Olive assures her. "I can't understand why you are so patient all the time. We really don't make it easy for you," Olive jokes.

Miss Peregrine just shakes her head. "No Olive, you're not making anything difficult. You're helping me so much as well as the others. And also the little ones are so good most of the time. I guess I just needed to let it out after today."

Olive nods understandingly.

"But therefore I'm here, to help you relax," Olive says winking. "Shall we go into your room instead. I think you can lie down better there," Olive suggests.

"I think you might be right," Miss Peregrine admits and they both stand up. While Miss Peregrine already goes into her room, Olive quickly runs into her own. She must have some massage oil somewhere. Enoch had given it to her for her birthday gift, together with the promise to massage her regularly.

She finds it on her bedside table and wants to leave again but decides to talk to Fiona first.

"Miss Peregrine and I are going to practice in her room because it was so noisy in the living room. Maybe you could have an eye on Claire and Bronwyn, they had a little fight already."

"I've heard it," Fiona laughs. "And of course I will," she assures Olive.

As Olive enters Miss Peregrine's room, her headmistress is already sitting on her couch, waiting for her girl.

"Where have you been?" she asks confused.

"I got this," Olive explains and shows Miss Peregrine the oil.

"Oh," Miss Peregrine smiles. "Are you sure that you want to use it for me? It was a gift for you."

"Of course. And there's so much in the package. So lie down," Olive tells her ymbryne.

Miss Peregrine takes off her blouse and lies down on the couch while Olive sits down on the edge. Carefully she drops some oil on her ymbryne's back and begins to spread it without spilling anything onto the couch.

Gently Olive tries to reduce the tension in Miss Peregrine's muscles. She has read some books about massaging before, so she knows some tricks. But when she tries something new on Emma or Enoch it's never this difficult because Miss Peregrine's muscles are so strained. Therefore Olive needs to use her whole concentration for the task.

Miss Peregrine really enjoys it though. It's already long ago since Ethan pampered her like that. But even if she begins to relax like that, she notices the change in Olive's hands as she's working on a particularly tight spot.

"Olive..." Miss Peregrine says to make her aware of it.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Olive apologizes quickly and regains the control of her temperature regulation. But as she keeps working on Miss Peregrine's back she quickly gets distracted again.

"I mean, it's quite helpful at the moment," Miss Peregrine says smiling. She enjoys the warmth of Olive's hands on her back and it already works magic on her muscles.

"But it wasn't really the idea of this task, was it?" she jokes.

"Oh no, sorry," Olive laughs too. "But is it helping?" she wants to know.

"Oh yes, thank you Olive! You're really skilled. It feels so much better already. But keep concentrating on your hands."

"I'll try," Olive assures her.

And for the next minutes she manages to keep it under control. Miss Peregrine's back is so much better that she really relaxes and nearly falls asleep.

But suddenly both women hear someone knocking at the door and Miss Peregrine snaps out of her state.

"Yes," she answers.

The door opens carefully and Bronwyn and Claire are looking inside. At seeing their ymbryne and Olive like that they start giggling.

Smiling as well, Olive and Miss Peregrine stop and sit up properly. "I see you've stopped fighting," Miss Peregrine teases while Olive cleans her back with a towel before she can dress again.

Shyly, both girls nod.

"Good!" Miss Peregrine says.

"Emma sent us," Claire begins.

"Yes, she said dinner will be ready shortly," Bronwyn adds.

"Oh, is it already this late?" Miss Peregrine asks. Olive takes a look at her watch.

"They are right, it's already half past 6," she says. "I haven't noticed how the time flew by."

"No, me neither," Miss Peregrine agrees. "They should have said something," she remarks shaking her head.

The two younger ones have already left the room again.

"Thank you, Olive," Miss Peregrine says before she wants to follow them.

"I really feel like a whole new person!"

"You're welcome, Miss P!" Olive says. "But thank you as well. It was a helpful lesson today, even though I didn't do so good," Olive laughs.

"You're right, you sometimes slipped and should practice it more. But I have to say that it was convenient as the warmth really helped," Miss Peregrine admits smiling.

"Maybe you could practice on Emma or Fiona, I'm sure they would love to be your test objects." Miss Peregrine winks at Olive who smiles.

"Yes, that's a great idea. But if you want I'll always give you another massage. You probably need it more than they do."

"Thanks, Olive. I may take you up on it some time, you're a real pro," Miss Peregrine says grateful.

"Definitely!" Olive says proudly as they both leave Miss Peregrine's room.


	24. Chapter 12 Part II

**Chapter 12 Part II**

In the living room, some of the children are setting the table or helping Emma serving the food. Millard and Hugh have already finished taking a shower and Jake is still in the bathroom with the twins.

"Oh Emma, "Miss Peregrine exclaims as she sees Emma carrying a big bowl of salad towards the table. "You're an angel! But you know that you could have said something. Olive and I totally forgot the time. I'm sorry."

"It's no big deal, Miss," Emma answers smiling. "I hope you're lesson was successful."

"In more than one way," Miss Peregrine confirms and gives Emma a hand with the rest.

"Is Enoch back already?" Olive asks the crowd.

"Yes, he's in his room, revising his notes from today's class, I think," Millard answers while stealing one of the fish fingers, Fiona has just placed on the table.

"Ok, thanks," Olive says and leaves to get Enoch.

After Jake and the twins join them, all the children and Miss Peregrine sit down at the table and they begin to eat. Soon Olive and Enoch join them.

"I'm sorry, I just had to finish what I was doing first," Enoch apologizes and sits down next to Emma.

"No problem," Miss Peregrine assures him. "How was the class anyway? Did it help?"

Enoch only nods as he has his mouth full of potatoes. The little children laugh about that sight, while he swallows.

"It was alright, I guess," he answers honestly.

"So do you think you're well prepared?" Miss Peregrine asks curiously and Enoch nods again.

"I think so. I have to repeat all topics once more but then I should do ok."

"That's good," Miss Peregrine says. "Just let me know when you need someone to test you again?"

"Will do, thank you," Enoch answers and already fills his mouth again. Miss Peregrine just has to smile. Her oldest boy is always hungry and even if she still wasn't able to teach him some manners at the table she enjoys seeing him so content. There have been times when they didn't have enough food for everyone but luckily these times are long over.

After dinner, Miss Peregrine lets Enoch and Olive retreat into the boys room, as Olive has offered to learn with Enoch some more. The other children are supposed to get ready for bed but like always they're running around fighting over the bathroom or playing tricks on each other. Everything that will give them more time before they have to go to bed.

Miss Peregrine is clearing the table and cleaning the kitchen after she had to banish Emma and Jake who have already done enough today again.

After the movie, she says good night to the younger children before checking on Olive and Enoch while Jake is staying with Emma until Olive goes to bed.

As Miss Peregrine enters the room, she sees Enoch and Olive lying on the bed kissing, Enoch's documents next to them.

"That doesn't look like learning," Miss Peregrine jokes, winking at them.

Both of the teenagers break the kiss and sit up immediately.

"Sorry, Miss," Olive giggles and stands up.

"We've just finished," Enoch justifies, a little bit embarrassed.

"It's alright, I was just joking," Miss Peregrine says. She has long gotten used to the romantic relationships between her teenagers, at least as long as it just involves kissing.

"Who learns as much as you, needs his reward afterwards," she adds and sits down on the chair.

Feeling that their time is over, Olive kisses Enoch goodbye and leaves the room.

"I'm really proud of you Enoch," Miss Peregrine begins. "You're the first one of my children to get a driving license and especially in this time and in a town like this it must be pretty difficult. I could never do it."

"It's ok," Enoch says. "But let's see until I get to really drive on the streets. Until now it hasn't been too difficult."

"I'm sure you'll be great as well," Alma encourages him and Enoch nods, nearly shyly.

"When exactly will be the test again?" Miss Peregrine asks.

"The day after tomorrow at 2 p.m."

"Then you will have to leave school early?" Miss Peregrine asks.

"Yes, half an hour, but I already talked to the teacher and it's alright," Enoch answers.

"Ok," Miss Peregrine says. "Then I will test you tomorrow in the afternoon, alright?"

Enoch nods enthusiastically. His ymbryne is really good at testing them. Of course Olive was really supportive and helpful too. But with Miss Peregrine he's more nervous and then it better simulates the situation of the examination.

Relieved about her boys reaction, Miss Peregrine stands up and wishes Enoch a good night.

"And don't be too nervous," she says. "You've learned so much, I wouldn't know what else you could have done."

"I know," Enoch says smiling and then Miss Peregrine closes the door behind herself.

She knocks at the girls room to let Jake know that he can now go into his room again. Fiona is already laying in bed, writing in her diary and the teenagers are sitting on Emma's bed looking at something on Jake's mobile phone.

As they see Miss Peregrine they stop laughing and Olive stands up to go to her own bed.

"Sorry, Miss P.," Emma says. "We will go to bed now."

"It's alright, Emma. It's not too late yet. I just wanted to tell Jake that he can go into his room if he wants now. But don't feel pressured. I just want you to go to sleep when Fiona wants to, alright?" All of them nod and wish their ymbryne a good night.

After tidying up the rest in the living room, Alma goes to bed. She trusts Emma and Jake that they won't take advantage of her good will. Lying in bed, she thinks about her teenagers. They are growing up so quickly now and soon they will be adults. That Enoch gets his driving license makes her realize it again.

And Alma is so proud of them all. They are doing a fabulous job in supporting her all day and she's sure that they will all be great parents if they should have a family of their own one day. Contentedly she falls asleep as well, this time without waiting until she hears Jake returning to his own room.

The next day passes by quickly. Miss Peregrine has breakfast with her children, before they all go to school. Until lunch, she does the laundry and the grocery shopping. Back home she's surprised how much time is still left until the young ones come back from school. For a short moment she thinks about picking them up from school. But Ethan is right and it was a big step towards their independence to let them walk on their own. It may not have been so important on Cairnholm but here in the city it is.

Therefore, Alma decides to use the time for herself, which she hasn't done often lately.

After a short flight around the block - her daily fitness exercise - she starts playing the piano. She can always relax when doing so and completely looses track of time until she hears the doorbell and Claire and the twins have returned from school.

Quickly she prepares something to eat and helps them with their homework before practicing their instruments with them while Fiona, Bronwyn and Hugh eat something.

Soon the older ones come back as well, so she and Enoch go into her room to learn together. In their old home, she hasn't let her children enter her room, only in emergencies. But that's one of many rules she has relaxed here in Florida.

Alma is really happy with Enoch's progress. She doesn't know too much about traffic and everything but she's sure that Enoch will pass everything easily.

Relieved that it went perfectly, both of them go into the living room. Enoch is allowed to relax a bit with the others while Miss Peregrine prepares dinner. As she hasn't had the time to practice with Olive today, she is happy that she accepted her suggestion and is currently massaging Emma in their room.

During dinner they all talk happily. The boys are talking enthusiastically about a soccer game that's supposed to be shown on TV on the weekend. Alma doesn't know much about soccer but Ethan has said that it will be really interesting and he promised to watch it with the children.

Alma herself is more interested in how Olive's 'lesson' with Emma went. If she can believe Emma, Olive has improved again and had her power under control the whole time. Emma even complained that her hands felt unusually cold. Alma feels really happy for Olive but at the same time lucky that she had the first and warm massage.

"That's really good, Olive!" she says. "If Enoch is lucky, he may be the next one enjoying your magical touch. Don't you think?"

Shyly, Olive looks at her table. "Maybe," she just says. Olive isn't sure if she's ready enough. Miss Peregrine is right and she was successful so far but with Enoch there's so much pressure involved as she wants it to be perfect with him. But maybe her ymbryne is right and she should try massaging him. It's still very similar to what she's done so far.

Enoch doesn't hear their conversation though as he's busy with talking to Jake about the examination tomorrow. Jake is assuring him that it's not as difficult as one may think and that everything will be fine.

After the meal Miss Peregrine and Emma clean everything up while the children get ready for their movie. Olive and Enoch are allowed to spend some alone time in Enoch's room as Miss Peregrine hopes that Olive can calm him down enough because she felt his nervousness earlier.

So while the others watch a comedy on TV, Olive and Enoch are cuddling on his bed. Olive has asked him some last questions to reassure him that he knows everything and now she tries another way of calming him down. Enoch leans against the wall and holds her in his arms. Their hands are intertwined and Enoch lets his thumb caress her palm through her glove.

"How's your work with Miss P. going by the way?" Enoch asks as he doesn't want to talk about his test anymore.

"Quite good," Olive answers honestly. "The last time I tried giving her a massage and at least I didn't burn her, even if my hand got a bit warm. But with Emma today it worked even better," she explains proudly.

"That sounds really good, Olive!" Enoch exclaims. He hasn't asked Olive about it for some time as he didn't want to pressure her and her progress really amazes him. "So, am I next?" he asks hopefully.

"Maybe," Olive repeats her earlier answer. "But only if you pass your test tomorrow," she adds jokingly. "No pressure of course," she laughs and kisses Enoch's nose.

Enoch takes her head in his hands and kisses her on the mouth. Passionately they deepen the kiss until Enoch pulls back again.

"With such a prospect I'm sure that nothing will go wrong," Enoch says convinced and embraces Olive tightly.

Enjoying each other's presence they stay like that for some time without saying anything until Miss Peregrine comes to say goodnight and remind Olive that she should go to bed soon to give Enoch the rest he needs. Knowing that Miss P. is right, she gives Enoch another kiss and then goes to bed.

The next morning everyone can feel the tense atmosphere during breakfast. Everyone feels excited and nervous for Enoch and he himself is unusually quiet the whole time. Olive tries to distract him and calm him down as best as she can but of course it doesn't change much. Only the prospect of a massage by Olive this evening helps him think of something else.

Before the children leave for school, Miss Peregrine takes him aside and wishes him good luck.

"Everything will be fine! Don't think too much about it in school. You've learned so much that I'm 100 percent sure that you're result will be great!"

Happy about his ymbryne's confidence, Enoch leaves the house more relaxed.

And they have all been right. After the test Enoch has to laugh about himself. How could he have worried so much about something as easy as this, he thinks to himself.

Indescribably happy and relieved he makes his way home where Miss Peregrine is already waiting for him. He was even so quick that he returns before Emma, Olive and Jake who have school until half past 3 today.

Nervous herself Miss Peregrine opens the door as she hears the doorbell. She's pretty sure that Enoch passed the test but if not she wouldn't know what to say to him. Besides, she has already prepared some things for a little party.

Looking at her boy, she doesn't know what to think. Enoch really doesn't make it easy for her, not smiling at all and even trying to look a bit disappointed. But then he can't hold it back anymore and needs to beam. Relieved Miss Peregrine hugs her boy tightly.

"I knew it!" she says. "And, was it difficult?"

"No, not at all," Enoch laughs and breaks the hug to look at his ymbryne.

"Thank you for your confidence and help though!" Enoch thanks her.

"Of course!" Miss Peregrine answers smiling and lets Enoch enter the house.

"You can," she calls into the living room and all the children come storming towards Enoch, cheering loudly. They all want to know how it was and don't leave Enoch's side until the teenagers return from school. For them, especially Olive it had been really hard to stay in school, wondering how Enoch's doing.

Really happy, Olive runs towards him and jumps into Enoch's arms. Emma and Jake grant the couple some time but then congratulate him as well.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine starts preparing a celebratory meal for Enoch, with his favourite dessert - chocolate soufflé.

All of them enjoy this special dinner and are overly excited during the whole evening. Of course it will still take some time and hard work until Enoch is allowed to drive a car on his own but for now they are all proud of their oldest brother and are happy for a reason to celebrate.

Miss Peregrine has her hands full with calming them down enough for the night but has to give up soon. And it doesn't really matter as it's the weekend and all of them can sleep late tomorrow.

While they all stay in the living room, watching another movie, Olive and Enoch retreat into his room again. They have enjoyed the time with the others but now they want to be on their own as well. Besides, there's still something Olive has promised to do.

"So I guess I earned the massage," Enoch reminds her smirking.

"You did!" Olive confirms smiling and pushes Enoch towards his bed.

"Take of your shirt then," she says and leaves to get the oil of her room. As she returns Enoch already lies on his bed. He turns his head so he can look at her.

 _She's just so beautiful,_ he thinks and counts himself lucky to have her as a girlfriend. And now he gets a massage on top of it and for the first time without her gloves. This is one special day indeed. Enoch is really looking forward to her touch. He's a tiny bit scared that he gets burned but deep down he knows that that won't happen and he trusts her.

Olive approaches and sits down next to him. She places the oil on the nightstand to take off her gloves and then gently spreads some oil on Enoch's back.

She feels a little bit nervous but she's sure that she can do it, like she already has with Miss Peregrine and Emma.

"Please tell me as soon as my hands start getting hotter," she tells Enoch. "I'm still not perfect."

Enoch turns around a bit to look her in the eyes. With one hand he touches her left knee and squeezes it an encouragingly. "You are perfect, Olive. Just in your own way! And I trust you completely," he assures her.

Smiling, Olive continues on his back, which forces Enoch back in his previous position and makes him laugh about her resoluteness. Then Olive starts massaging him and he forgets about everything he has been thinking before. Her touch is so gentle and at the same time firm. He knew that she is quite good at massaging and that she has read a lot about it but he has never felt it like this as it's not the same with the gloves on.

And her touch is amazing, how her fingers move so easily without the gloves and her skin is so soft. Enoch can't help but moan as she continues with his shoulder muscles which makes Olive smile contentedly. Soon all her worries disappear and she starts enjoying this moment as much as Enoch. Feeling his skin with the sensitivity of her fingers for the first time is really special. It feels soft, maybe not like a woman's skin but in its own way. Sometimes Olive would forget about her peculiarity but she always regains control before her hands get too hot and Enoch might say something.

Enoch can feel her struggle sometimes when her hands change from feeling pleasantly hot to cold all of a sudden.

It makes him smile secretly but at the same time loving her even more. He's so proud of her that she has made such progress. As he has told her before, he doesn't care about her gloves and he loves her the way she is. But that she worked so hard on it and managed to control her peculiarity even further is wonderful nonetheless.

Soon Enoch relaxes so much that he nearly falls asleep. All the pressure from the last days has disappeared and life feels just good again. As Enoch begins to snore slightly, Olive has to laugh out loud. It sounds so funny but adorable at the same time. Of course this wakes Enoch as he hasn't been fast asleep.

He turns around and looks at Olive with a confused stare.

"You snored," Olive explains herself, still giggling.

"I did not!" Enoch insists slightly offended.

"Did too," Olive laughs but kisses Enoch on the mouth to end the discussion. Enoch gladly forgets about it as well and deepens the kiss. He then moves so that Olive can lie down next to him. Embracing each other they snuggle into Enoch's bed.

"Thank you!" Enoch whispers in Olive's ear after some minutes of silence. Olive has to smile, she's so happy that everything went alright and that she didn't hurt Enoch. From now on it can only get better and who knows, maybe she won't need her gloves at all in the future.

Even though she has gotten used to them in her life, the thought seems wonderful. She takes a deep breath and then presses herself even closer to Enoch's chest, taking his hands in hers and kissing them.

Arm in arm the young couple gets more sleepy and soon their eyes close and they fall into a calm sleep, Olive still without her gloves.

As the children in the living room have finally calmed down and the movie finishes, Miss Peregrine sends them all to bed. Her little ones beg for her to read them a story and she just can't say no to them.

The boys go into their room as well as Fiona. Emma and Jake stay together on the couch while Miss Peregrine follows Claire, Bronwyn and the twins. She sits down on Claire's bed with the book they have chosen all together. At least this time they were in agreement about it. Enjoying the tired, but happy faces of her children Alma begins to read until all of them have fallen asleep. She then puts the book back in the shelf and switches off the light before leaving the room. She lets the door slightly ajar, as she knows that the light of the small lamp in the living room calms them down a bit when one wakes up from a nightmare.

Quietly she crosses the living room and knocks at Enoch's and Jake's door. She had noticed Enoch and Olive leaving but didn't say anything as she knew they wanted some time on their own but now she wants them to go to bed as well, so that Emma and Jake can go into their rooms.

As no one answers and she can't hear any noises, Miss Peregrine opens the door a little bit and takes a look inside. At seeing her teenage couple sleeping arm in arm she feels a strong feeling of happiness fill her. They look so sweet together, she thinks.

Then she notices that Olive doesn't wear her gloves and feels even more happy. She's so proud of Olive that she learned it so quickly and apparently it was worth it and works when she's with Enoch as well. Pleased with the result of their hard work and so happy for Olive that her wish came true, Alma decides to let them sleep here together.

They are already asleep and this one time she can make an exception. Both of them have really earned it during the last days and weeks. Smiling, she closes the door and goes back into the living room where Emma and Jake where still lying on the couch, pretty much in the same position as Enoch and Olive.

"Enoch and Olive are already asleep and I wouldn't want to wake them," she explains. "I hope you don't mind sharing a bed tonight as well," Miss Peregrine adds smirking.

Immediately Emma and Jake's tired faces light up.

"Really?" Emma asks her ymbryne. She can't believe what she's just heard as Miss Peregrine is usually so strict.

"If you can behave yourself, I don't know a reason against it," she answers and immediately Emma and Jake jump to their feet, to leave before she can change her mind.

"Thank you!" says Jake as he passes Miss Peregrine.

"Yes," Emma agrees and gives her ymbryne a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best! Good night."

"Good night to you too and don't stay up too much longer," Miss Peregrine answers as the couple disappears into the girl's room. Then she folds the blankets on the couches and switches off all the lights except the small one in the corner of the room before getting ready for bed herself.

Tired but happy she quickly falls asleep and dreams of another day with Ethan and her children instead of something horrible.


	25. Chapter 13 Part I

**Chapter 13**

"No!" Miss Peregrine says determinedly.

"I'm strictly against these new things and you're still too young."

"But Enoch and Jake have one too," Hugh keeps arguing.

"Yes but they are a lot older than you are," Miss Peregrine insists.

"But the others in our class have one as well and they are as old as we are," Millard debates.

"He's right, Miss P.," Hugh agrees. "And Jake was younger too when he got his first mobile phone."

"Yes but that was the decision of his parents at the time as well as it is for the parents of your friends at school. And as long as I'm responsible for you it is my decision and I say not until your 18th birthday."

"But that's not fair!" Hugh keeps arguing. "How is it my fault that I don't have any real parents like them. I wish I had, though. They wouldn't be as unfair as you!"

"That's enough Hugh!" Enoch stops him before he can say anything else.

"You didn't really mean that, did you?" Emma says shocked. She can't understand why Hugh can say something like that. Miss Peregrine does so much for them and she's the best mother she can imagine. What Hugh has said really hurt her and Emma could see it in her eyes.

So did Ethan who placed his hand on Alma's knee under the table and squeezes it gently.

They are all sitting at the table, eating dinner. Ethan has picked up the boys from soccer training so Alma invited him to stay for the evening and eat with them. But since they sat down together, there hasn't been another subject than mobile phones.

The older boys have been keen to have one for some time now. But that some other boys in their soccer team showed them new tricks with their phones today, aroused the enthusiasm again.

Miss Peregrine sticks to her rules, though, no matter what the boys use to pressure her.

"I'm sorry, Miss," Hugh says finally and looks at his lap. "I didn't mean it. But I'm so sick of being the only one in school who still hasn't got a phone of his own," Hugh explains.

"I can understand you, Hugh," Miss Peregrine says. "But please try to understand me as well. I don't want you all to play with your phones the whole day like the others do. It's just not good for children your age. Besides, I'm sure that you're not the only one. Only recently I've talked with the mother of Lena about it and she has the same opinion," Miss Peregrine says.

"Oh, Lena, yes. But she's an outsider and her parents are just strange," Hugh laughs.

"Hugh!" Miss Peregrine cuts in. "I don't want you talking about others like that. Lena is a nice girl and her parents are very sensible, which seems to be rare in these times."

"But a phone can be useful as well," Millard tries to convince his ymbryne. My friends use their Smartphones to research something for school. And since we've got no internet here at home I'd say it's really important."

"You have internet in the school and if you want to know something you can go into the library and read a book," Miss Peregrine answers.

"But that's so old-fashioned," Hugh argues. "And not everything we need to know, can be found in books anymore, Miss P.," Millard explains.

The other children have stayed quiet so far. They don't want to be involved in this fight but they can understand their brothers as well.

So does Ethan. But now he thinks it's time to say his opinion.

"I understand you," he says to Alma. "I'm not a big fan of all the children who have their phones in front of their faces the whole time either, let alone when you think about all the consequences it has on one's health. But I have to agree that it can be useful sometimes. And in a time like today all children need internet access for school."

"Yes, if we could at least have internet here, it would be a lot easier, right Hugh," Millard says and Hugh nods enthusiastically.

"So, you've joined forces against me now," Miss Peregrine laughs. "I'm not convinced. I've heard a few things about the internet. It can be quite dangerous for children."

"That's right. But not when they know how to use it correctly. Maybe you can think about it again when they promise to be sensible?" Ethan tries to mediate between the two sides.

"Yes, I can do that. But it's no promise!" Miss Peregrine warns her boys. She doesn't want to argue any longer. Both boys smile at that comment and finish their dinner.

As they are all ready, Miss Peregrine sends them to bed. It has been a long day for all of them and she's way too tired to watch another movie with them.

Only Horace is allowed to stay a little while longer because he wants to practice the piano before going to sleep. He is taking part in a music competition in school. He has already won the local competition and is now the representative for his school in the finale. It will take place on next Wednesday and therefore he practices every free minute.

After Miss Peregrine has cleaned up, she gets a bottle of wine as well as two glasses and sits down on the couch next to Ethan, who has watched Horace intently. Horace has just finished and stands up to go to bed.

"Well done," Miss Peregrine says to him. "You have even improved since you're last audition. I don't see any reason that it won't be perfect on Wednesday!"

"Thanks, Miss. I hope that," Horace answers before wishing both adults a good night.

"He's already quite a little pianist," Ethan says to Alma and sips at his wine. Alma smiles.

"Yes, he is. But he worked hard for it. None of the other children has ever practiced as much as him," she tells Ethan.

"It's interesting how all your children are quite similar in some ways but so different in so many others. They all have so different things they really love."

Alma nods after drinking some more wine. Ethan wants to say something else but gets distracted by a faint thump at the terrace door.

"Uh, who's that?" he asks Alma with a smile on his lips.

"Oh, that's just a stray cat, who's been coming here lately," Alma answers a little bit annoyed.

"Which doesn't please you," Ethan guesses laughing.

"No, not really. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a cat hater or anything. But cats and birds - it's not a good combination. Unfortunately my girls seem to be in love with her, though, " she explains her predicament. But Ethan just laughs harder.

"She's just a young cat, she wouldn't attack you and I bet she'd be rather afraid herself," Ethan keeps laughing.

"Hey!" Alma says while slapping Ethan playfully on his leg. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Never!" Ethan answers and finishes his glass of wine.

"Do you want some more?" Alma offers, stifling a yawn.

"No, I'm fine. And it's already quite late and you're tired," Ethan answers.

"It's not that late," Alma insists winking at him. "But you're still tired," Ethan repeats.

"Yes, it was an exhausting day and these endless discussions during dinner gave me the rest," Alma sighs.

"I can believe that and you have some stubborn boys," Ethan says. "But no wonder with a role model like you."

"What did you mean by that?" Alma says offended.

"Nothing, nothing," Ethan saves himself. "I just meant that you didn't give in to their pleading."

"And you think that was wrong?"

"No, not at all," Ethan says. "It's important to stick to one's conviction when it comes to the education of children."

"But?" Alma asks as she can tell that Ethan wants to say something else.

"But...I think that today it's quite important for a household to have internet access. You don't have to let them use it whenever they want. There are ways to lock it with a password that only you know and therefore you can control who uses it when," Ethan explains.

"Really?" Alma asks interested. She knows that she has no idea about these technical stuff and that Ethan can help her. But so far she preferred to avoid it all.

"Yes and it's really easy. I can install it for you if you should decide to do it," Ethan offers and raises his eyebrows.

"Ok, ok, I got it. Internet is import in 2017," Alma gives in. "But I still want to think about it as there are so many dangers in the internet for young children."

"I understand that," Ethan assures her and takes her in his arms. Alma is happy about this affection and snuggles into his lap and Ethan starts caressing her head with his hand.

"Ok, than let's change the subject," Alma suggests.

"I think we should rather stop talking at all," Ethan says. "You're tired and I don't want to keep you from your bed."

"But you could come with me," Alma suggests with a mischievous grin.

"I'd rather not," Ethan says and Alma's smile is replaced by disappointment.

"I'm sorry but I've been here most nights of the last week and I should be at home sometimes. Besides, it's easier for me in the mornings when I have to go to work early."

"I see, I'm sorry," Alma says and sits up, leaning against the couch and drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Don't be disappointed," Ethan says and takes Alma back into his arms.

"Maybe you could come and stay at my place for some nights in the future. Then we can see each other more often and no one has to stay away from home too often," Ethan suggests to cheer her up again.

"You know that I can't do that, Ethan," Alma sighs, sitting up once more. "My children need me in the mornings and also during the nights."

"I don't think that's true, to be honest," Ethan says. "Emma always says that she can take over more responsibility and Olive too. You just don't let them. Besides, they have been really independent while you were in the hospital. Maybe it's just you who can't let them go, not even for one night," Ethan guesses.

"What do you mean?" Alma says. "That I don't want to sleep at your house and that I use my children as an excuse?"

"No, Alma. Of course not. But I mean that you can get quite protective with them..."

"And that's bad?" Alma says.

"Again no! Alma you want to get me wrong, do you?" Ethan accuses her, half laughing, half angry. "I understand you completely, especially after all you've been through. But you're safe now. No one will come and take your children away over night."

"How do you know that, Ethan? You have no idea what kind of enemies we've faced and what they are capable of."

"But they are not here. You've defeated them" Ethan insists.

"You can never be sure of that," Alma says and stands up to bring their glasses into the kitchen.

"Alma, please don't be like that," Ethan begs. "I don't want to argue but I think it's best for the children if you let them to their own sometimes. It's important for their development and necessary in the world you're living in now. You can't forget that you're not living in a loop anymore. You're all getting older and one day your children will be grown-ups and have to be able to live on their own," Ethan explains.

"So you think that I bring my children up to be dependent on me? That I don't want them to have their own lives?"

"For heaven's sake, Alma, no!" Ethan retorts, raising his voice and jumping to his feet.

"If you want to hear what I think: In my opinion you're a wonderful mother and you've raised your children brilliantly. Most of them are very independent and the others are still young but will get there, too. But I also think that you make it unnecessarily hard for you all. You can take some time for yourself, too. And no one will blame you, I'm sure. And as a side effect, the children get used to be without you for some time. Don't you think that it sounds good and not bad? " Ethan asks desperately.

Alma sighs and turns around again.

"And furthermore it leaves us with more time for ourselves," Ethan says winking at her to lighten the mood again.

Alma tilts her head slightly and looks at Ethan while taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I'm tired and I may have overreacted. But I'm still not ready to leave them alone for the night," she admits.

"That's alright. As long as you remember that it's mostly your feeling about it and not your children's needs, ok?"

Alma nods. "I will try to be more relaxed about it in the future."

"Good!" Ethan says and approaches her to kiss her forehead. Again Alma yawns and tries to hide it.

"So, now time for bed," Ethan says and hugs her before steering her towards the corridor.

"I feel bad when we part now after fighting so much," Alma sighs as they reach the front door.

Ethan hugs her even tighter and Alma presses her face into Ethan's shoulder.

"I know, me too. But I hope I'm right, when I say that we've resolved everything?" he asks.

"Yes," Alma answers honestly. "But I'll still miss you as soon as you're gone."

"Me too. But don't think that I leave because I'm angry at you. It's just that I have to be in my office earlier tomorrow and if I stay here it will get too stressful," Ethan explains.

"It's alright, Ethan. And I'm sorry. I never thought about how it is for you to stay here all the time."

"Don't worry, Alma. It's fine and I like being here. And don't think I'm so obsessed that I count how often you stay at my house and the other way round or that I'm jealous of your children. Besides it's just logical that I come to you as there's no one waiting for me at home. But I just wanted to help you. It will be good for you to go out and don't think about your children sometimes."

"I know," Alma admits again and looks up into his face.

"Thank you for today and also for being always there for me, no matter how stubborn I can be," Alma laughs.

"It's my pleasure. And I know that it's not always easy with me either."

Kissing again both of them say goodbye before Ethan leaves and Alma closes the door behind him.

A bit depressed but too tired to think about it any longer Alma goes to bed herself. She briefly thought about checking on her children like she used to do it but Ethan is completely right. Her paranoia has to stop. They are all save here. Totally exhausted she slumps into her bed and falls asleep immediately.

But she doesn't sleep peacefully. Too many thoughts are in her head after this discussion and furthermore she's plagued by many nightmares again. It's just incredible what an effect Ethan's presence during the night has on her.

But Ethan as well doesn't sleep much. He's lying awake and already regrets what he said earlier. Alma is such a good mother but she always doubts herself. What he said to her may have increased these doubts. And he hasn't even thought about everything they all have been through. It wouldn't be normal if a mother didn't react like Alma after that.

For a moment Ethan thinks about calling her to apologize and say this to her but he thinks better of it. He wouldn't want to wake her as she needs her sleep.

Way too soon, both of them are ripped out of their sleep by their alarm clocks, though.

Quickly Miss Peregrine gets ready and starts preparing their breakfast and her children's lunchboxes. A couple of times she yawns. Luckily it's already Friday she can get more sleep on the weekend.

Meanwhile it's quite chaotic in the living room. Some children are running around, Emma, Olive and Enoch are fighting over the bathroom and Horace tries to get Hugh and Millard out of their beds. They seem especially tired today and only as Miss Peregrine stands in front of their bed they start moving.

As Miss Peregrine walks back into the living room to serve the food, she sees Bronwyn and Claire outside in front of the terrace door.

"What are you doing there?" she asks annoyed as Millard sprints past her to bang at the bathroom door.

Quickly both girls turn around, hiding what they've been doing behind their backs and look innocently back at their ymbryne.

"Nothing," they say in unison.

Miss Peregrine approaches them doubtfully.

"Show me," she demands in a strict voice. Claire bites her lip and Bronwyn looks down at the ground. Slowly they both move apart to allow Miss Peregrine a free view.

"This cat again!" Miss Peregrine exclaims angrily. "You haven't been feeding her, have you?"

Bronwyn shakes her head vehemently but Claire is faster.

"I'm sorry, Miss P. but I think she's hungry and thirsty," she explains in her childish voice.

Miss Peregrine just shakes her head in disbelief.

"I've told you, that she cannot stay here. If you feed her she will come back every day."

"But wouldn't that be nice?" Claire exclaims beaming until Bronwyn nudges her with her arm.

"No it wouldn't!" Miss Peregrine sighs. "Where did you get the cat food anyway?"

"Bronwyn got it from a friend at school who has got a cat at home," Claire explains and turns around to feed the kitten again.

"See, Miss P., she really likes it," Claire says while the cat licks off her whole hand.

"And she drank something, too," Bronwyn adds, finally having overcome her fear of Miss Peregrine's reaction, and steps aside so Miss Peregrine can see the little bowl on the ground, which is filled with some water.

"Oh dear," Miss Peregrine sighs again. "At least you haven't fed her with milk." She walks past Bronwyn and takes the bowl.

"I've already told you that I don't allow her here, so please do me the favour and stop feeding her. And now go inside and get ready, otherwise you will be late for school," she says and shoos away the little cat.

Pouting both girls go back into the living room.

"And don't forget to wash your hands, especially you Claire!" Miss Peregrine shouts after them before following and closing the terrace door.

All the children eat their breakfast quickly while Miss Peregrine scolds them for spending too much time for other things in the morning.

"It's very unhealthy to gobble the food down and rude as well!"

But none of the children react to it. Emma is still in her room, getting ready as she was the last one to take a shower, the boys are still too sleepy and the others deep in thoughts. Bronwyn and especially Claire haven't looked at their ymbryne, still angry at her for the way she treated the cat.

Sighing Miss Peregrine stands up and gets the lunchboxes. All the children pack their bags and soon they are all gone, leaving Miss Peregrine alone in the house.


	26. Chapter 13 Part II

**Chapter 13 PartII**

While the children are in school, Alma decides to use her free time for herself. It has been a hard week and the argument with Ethan as well as this stressful morning left her in need of something relaxing.

Therefore she decides to fly to the beach and walk along the shore. Maybe she will even go swimming as she's already naked after her transformation back to her human form. It's still quite warm outside for late autumn, that's not what she's used to from Wales but she likes it and already the thought of swimming in the sea lifts her spirits.

But that doesn't last long. As soon as she's cleaned the kitchen and locked the house, the cat returns and looks at her expectantly.

"No way," Alma says to her. "I'm definitely not going to feed you."

Miss Peregrine chooses to ignore her and starts to transform anyway. The cat looks at her with curiosity and fear. As she can detect what's starting to form in front of her eyes, she starts hissing at the falcon.

Miss Peregrine rolls her bird eyes. She knew it, the cat and her are never going to get on. Not looking back at the small ball of fur going crazy on the grass, Alma flies higher over the house and straight towards the sea.

As she comes back just soon enough to prepare some sandwiches for the first homecomers, she feels much better, more relaxed and not so troubled by the many discussions.

Together with the little ones, Bronwyn, Fiona and Hugh, Miss Peregrine eats something. Claire has obviously forgotten about their argument or at least about the ignoring part, as Alma is sure that she won't forget about the cat.

Only Bronwyn seems still too quiet. So after they have finished eating and the children go into their rooms to do their homework, Miss Peregrine takes her aside to talk to her.

"Are you still angry at me because of the cat?" Miss Peregrine asks carefully as they both sit down on the couch.

Bronwyn shakes her head but remains silent. Now Miss Peregrine starts worrying for her girl. Something must be up and she just hopes that she will be able to find out what.

Gently she takes Bronwyn's hand.

"Don't you want to tell me what's wrong then?" she asks.

Bronwyn hesitates for some time and looks at her hand in Miss Peregrine's. But eventually she starts talking.

"We had our geography class today," she begins.

"And? Don't you like it?" Miss Peregrine asks.

"I like geography," Bronwyn states. "But no one likes the teacher. He's just mean. He only has a few favourites but the others just can't please him, no matter what they do."

"That doesn't sound professional," Miss Peregrine comments. "What do the other teachers say to it. There must have been complaints before."

"Sure but no one wants to argue with him. He is one of the teachers who have been teaching there the longest."

"I see. And today he picked on you?" Alma guesses but Bronwyn shakes her head again.

"He always does - on everyone. We kind of got used to it even though everyone dreads his lessons. But today he announced that we all have to do presentations in the next weeks and that without a partner."

"Oh and now you're scared?" Miss Peregrine asks compassionately

"Yes, he will only criticise all of us. And that's not even all of it," Bronwyn sighs desperately. "He also decided the order and I'm first which is already next week."

"Oh, that's really early indeed," Miss Peregrine agrees with her girl. "And now you're really scared."

Bronwyn nods shyly. "I completely understand that," Miss Peregrine assures her.

"But I'm sure that we'll manage."

"We?" Bronwyn asks and looks up at her ymbryne.

"Yes. If you want to, I can help you. I mean I might not know a lot about everything that's happened in the last centuries. But I tried to keep track of it and read some things. Maybe it will be helpful or we just use your textbooks," Miss Peregrine suggests.

Bronwyn nods enthusiastically. "Yes, Miss P. I'd like that."

Smiling Miss Peregrine takes Bronwyn's hand again. "Don't worry, we'll do a good job. And please don't keep something like that to yourself in the future. It's not good for you and I as well as your other siblings are always here to help you, alright?"

"Alright!" Bronwyn agrees smiling.

"Perfect!" Miss Peregrine exclaims and stands up. "Then let's get started, the earlier you finish with it, the more relaxed you are!"

Quite relieved and happy, Bronwyn follows her and they both start working in Bronwyn's room.

As the older children return as well, Miss Peregrine briefly leaves Bronwyn alone and tells Emma to have a look on her younger siblings. She will be back for preparing the dinner though. Of course she could have left Bronwyn alone by now but she thought it best to be there for her. In the beginning Miss Peregrine helped her a lot but by now she stopped and is just there as support. Of course it wouldn't help Bronwyn if she did all the work for her. But just by saying that she likes her ideas she gives her enough self assurance to face this unfriendly teacher. Soon though they are nearly finished and Miss Peregrine leaves Bronwyn to finish the layout of the handout on her own.

Entering the living room, Miss Peregrine sees Horace playing the piano again. She has to smile. Her boy is just so thorough when he does something. It's not that he's scared of his performance, he just finds little things he can improve every time he practices.

Quietly as not to disturb him she walks over to the piano and looks at the notes he has made on his sheet music. Approvingly she squeezes his shoulder before going into the kitchen to cook their dinner.

Soon Enoch and Jake come out of their rooms to help her setting the table. The girls are in their room playing with Fiona, Claire and the twins to give Bronwyn her space and Millard and Hugh are in their room, discussing about who's going to win the soccer match they're going to see tomorrow with Ethan.

Then Miss Peregrine serves the food and calls all her children to go wash their hands before coming to eat.

All in all it's a really happy atmosphere during the meal, most of the children are happy that it's the weekend now and the boys are really excited about the trip tomorrow.

But pretty soon as they've talked about all the fun things, the discussions start again. Hugh and Millard want to know if Miss Peregrine has made a decision about the internet and Claire seems to think that the time is right to ask about the cat once more. Even her normally quiet Horace raises a word and tells the others that nothing of their requests are as urgent as his.

"I wanted to plan my outfit for Wednesday," he begins to explain his problem. "And I had to notice that the suit I wanted to wear is too small. I need a new one!"

All the children start moaning in annoyance.

"Then take another one," Enoch just says in between bites. "Yes surely have more than one," Olive agrees.

"I don't have another one that's appropriate and I can't possibly wear the same one as I wore at the first competition," Horace argues.

"Why not?" Hugh asks.

"Yes, I bet no other boy your age has various black suits for different occasions."

"But I do!" Horace insists. "Can we please go to a tailor and see if we find one that's good for my size or that he can adjust in time, Miss Peregrine?" he asks his headmistress ignoring the other children.

"You can't be serious," Emma says. "If you absolutely need a new suit, why can't you just buy one in a normal clothing store, like all other people do?"

"I don't care what people like you do, Emma. But I have an exquisite taste and I don't wear a suit that every second boy on the street wears. And especially not for an occasion like this competition."

Most of the other children start protesting loudly but Miss Peregrine holds up her hand to shush them.

"I understand your objections, children. But our Horace has a really big and important performance next week and he kind of has a point. He can neither wear the same suit than the last time, nor one that's too small," Miss Peregrine says her opinion, which makes the children protest again.

"But we don't have so much money, that everyone of us can get new designer clothes every week," Emma argues.

"Please be quiet, children," Miss Peregrine stops the discussion. "You might be right Emma. But we're not penniless either. And please let me make the decisions what we can afford and what not."

"But..." Enoch wants to say but Miss Peregrine gives him one of her glares.

"No buts! Horace, I will take you shopping tomorrow when the others go to the football game. Is that alright with you?"

Contentedly, Horace nods and the other children just shake their heads.

"So I guess that discussion is closed, as for your other topics. No boys, I haven't had time to think about your request but Ethan talked to me again and put in a good word for you. So don't forget to thank him tomorrow," Miss Peregrine says winking at the boys.

"Does that mean...?" Hugh asks enthusiastically.

"Yes, it means that I'm willing to try it. But the internet will only be on the old computer of Jake's parents and it will be locked with a password. Only I decide who uses it, when and how long. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss!" Millard agrees quickly. Of course it isn't like he and Hugh wanted it to be but it's better than nothing.

"Ok then that's settled, too. Now to you, Claire," Miss Peregrine says and turns her head towards Claire and Bronwyn to her left.

"I can understand why you like this cat. I have to admit that she can look quite cute. But we can't keep her. Maybe she has already a home and her owner would be very sad if she doesn't come back anymore," Miss Peregrine explains carefully.

"But she's always her. Either she has no home or it's not nice there," Claire argues.

"Even if she hasn't got a home, she can't stay here. I already had an unfriendly encounter with her this morning as I transformed. I'm sorry, Claire but as a bird I'm strictly against cats in our house and I bet your guinea pigs won't appreciate it either. Don't be sad, you've still got them as pets."

"But they are Bronwyn's," Claire whines. "I want to have one of my own."

"I'm sorry. You know that I always try to fulfil all your wishes but this is just impossible."

Claire nearly begins to cry. All the others have gotten their way and she can't understand why just she gets to hear a 'no'.

"Oh, Claire, don't react like that," Emma says. "You have to admit that Miss P. is right. What if the cat attacks her or one of the guinea pigs.

"She won't, I'm sure."

Miss Peregrine motions for Emma to stop.

"Claire, please look at me," she says and Claire looks back up at her ymbryne.

"I'm really sorry, that this isn't like you want it to be. But I just can't allow the cat in the house, do you understand that?"

Claire hesitates for a while but then she nods shyly.

"Good!" Miss Peregrine says and smiles encouragingly at her youngest child who looks back confused.

"I may not want the cat in the house but I will tolerate her in the garden and if you want you can feed her there as well," Miss Peregrine says.

"Really?" Claire shouts out in joy. And as Miss Peregrine nods Claire jumps to her feet and runs towards her to jump onto her lap, hugging her as tight as possible.

"Thank you!" she says happily.

"I'm glad you're happy again," Miss Peregrine says and tickles her girl.

"So, now let's get ready for bed."

"What?"

"Why?"

The children look at her confused.

"Again no movie?" Fiona asks disappointed.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Miss Peregrine says.

"But we can sleep late tomorrow," Hugh insists.

"I'm not so sure about that," Miss Peregrine answers. "Or have you forgotten your soccer match with Ethan?"

"Of course not!" Hugh says. "But you said that it's in the afternoon."

"But Ethan will be here to pick you up at 12 as it's a longer way to the stadium and I want you to tidy your rooms and practice your instruments before you leave!"

The children begin to protest again.

"No!"

"Miss P. can't you make an exception?"

"No, Millard. If you have fun in the afternoon you still can do your duties in the morning."

And that's the last word of Miss Peregrine as she stands up and begins to clear the table.

Grumpy but still happy about their achievements with Miss Peregrine, the children do as they were told and soon all the residents of the house are asleep.


	27. Chapter 13 Part III

**Chapter 13 Part III**

The next morning it's not less stressful. Alma goes and wakes her children earlier than usual and prepares the breakfast. After eating she makes them clean their rooms and then practice their instruments as she already told them last evening.

But very soon it's already 12 o'clock and Ethan comes to pick up all boys except for Horace.

"Are you sure you will be alright with all of them?" Miss Peregrine asks him one last time. It's a big responsibility to care for so many children at once. And even if she trusts Ethan she at least wants to give him the chance to say no.

"We will be fine, Alma," Ethan assures her smiling and then gives her a deep kiss.

"Ok," Alma sighs and turns to her boys. They are all wearing shorts and shirts, except for Millard who reluctantly put on his overall. Furthermore they have sunglasses and backpacks with some food and something to drink.

"Be good children and take care of each other," Alma continues and pats the heads of the twins.

"We will, Miss Peregrine," Enoch assures her but has to roll his eyes because of his ymbryne's unnecessary worries.

"Ok, boys, let's go or we'll be late," Ethan says and makes them all go to the car. For today Ethan is taking the big car, Jake always uses as his own one isn't big enough for them all.

Alma stays in the doorway, wishes them a wonderful day and waves them goodbye as the car drives down the road before she goes back into the house and closes the door.

She and Horace get ready for their shopping trip shortly afterwards.

"Emma and Olive, I hope it's alright to take care of the girls until we're back?" Miss Peregrine asks her teenage girls.

"Of course!" they both assure her.

"Maybe we can go and buy cat food," Claire interrupts their conversation bouncing off the couch and landing in between Miss Peregrine and Olive and Emma.

"You may do that later, Claire," Miss Peregrine calms her down. "I hope it won't take too much time," she continues talking to Emma and Olive. "Horace usually knows exactly what he wants and decides quickly."

"It's really no problem, we'll be fine so you can take your time," Olive says reassuringly.

"Thank you," Miss Peregrine says. "Horace are you ready?"

Immediately, Horace comes out of his room and walks towards the front door. Both him and Miss Peregrine leave the house to take the bus into town.

As they arrive at their destination, Horace looks around the shop for some time but quickly finds three suits that please him. Miss Peregrine holds them for him while he tries them on, the tailor fussing around him to measure him and pinning up the fabric that needs to be removed to perfectly fit him.

With a critical eye, Horace watches himself in the mirror and soon he knows which suit is the best.

"We'll take this one," he tells the tailor. "And please make sure that it will fit like just now."

The tailor nods and leaves to store away the other two suits. Alma quickly glances at the price tag of the suit and briefly forgets to breath. It's really expensive. Of course she had known that it won't be cheap but this price category is even high for Horace.

But looking at her beaming boy she can't help nodding and they both go to the checkout. They already pay for the suit but have to spend some more time in the city until the suit is ready to take it home.

If she couldn't afford it at all Miss Peregrine wouldn't have bought the suit. It's just that she will have to take some of her own savings and she won't be able to do other big investments for some time to save the money again. She's never been so poor that they couldn't afford what they need and she still has got enough money and still gets the grants for the children here in the modern United States. But she had planned to save as much as possible as their lives won't get cheaper when her teenagers will leave school and maybe have to move elsewhere and need money for themselves.

But for now Miss Peregrine is happy for Horace and he has really earned a nice suit for his musical achievement.

As the two of them come back home. The girls have already prepared something for lunch. They are all sitting at the table and have started eating just now. Happily they welcome their ymbryne back. Claire quickly jumps to her feet and runs into the kitchen to get the cat food they have bought. Proudly she presents it to Miss Peregrine.

"Ok, let's just hope she likes it," Miss Peregrine says and sits down at the table.

"Did you get a nice suit?" Fiona asks and Horace nods enthusiastically. "I will show it to you this evening when the others are back as well," he says.

The rest of the afternoon, the remaining children spend in the garden. Fiona is taking care of her flowers and harvests a few of her last crops. Emma and Olive are lying on the grass, Olive is reading a book and Emma is just watching the clouds in the sky. And while Bronwyn lets her guinea pig run around in a little cage on the grass Claire is running around the garden to look for the small cat as she desperately wants to show her the new cat food.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine is busy with some household duties.

In the evening as the boys and Ethan return, they all have a lot to report. Miss Peregrine has served the dinner and they all start eating hungrily while talking about the match they saw.

By their reports it seems to have been quite exciting and they really enjoyed their day. And even Enoch and Jake, who aren't into soccer as much as the younger ones have really had a lot of fun.

"That's great to hear!" Miss Peregrine says. "And I hope that you've thanked Ethan for inviting you today."

All the children nod.

"Of course they have," Ethan assures Alma.

"But how was your day?" he asks back. "I heard you went to buy a suit. Are we going to see it?"

"I think you will," Alma answers looking at Horace who nods and stands up to get changed as he has already finished eating - not having talked as much as the other boys.

As he comes back all the children and Ethan look at him speechless. Even the children who were against buying it have to admit that it looks incredibly elegant on Horace.

Only Enoch doesn't bite back a remark.

"It looks even more expansive than all his other suits. It must have cost a fortune. Do we have to starve now because we can't afford any food?"

"It's not that bad. Only a few of us have to eat a bit less for a while, that's all," Miss Peregrine jokes and winks at Horace to let him know that he must not feel guilty.

"Besides, Horace has really earned it and we all should be proud of him instead of begrudging him this one think he wishes for," Alma ends the discussion.

Ethan beckons Horace over to inspect his suit closer.

"It's a really nice suit, Horace. You really have an exquisite taste. And Alma is right, you totally earned it and even I who don't know anything about music can understand that this is special. So I would like to pay for this suit as a present."

All children look at Ethan amazed.

"No Ethan, really not. This is way too much for a present," Alma states and stands up to clear the table.

"It's not that I can't afford it, Alma," Ethan laughs and winks at Horace.

"And you mean I can't?" Alma asks offended.

She already feels guilty that Ethan spends so much money on them all but does he have to be so arrogant about it all of a sudden. Secretly it hurts Miss Peregrine. She wants the best for her children but she can't afford everything. Meeting Ethan had been luck and she enjoys every minute with him and also that he spoils her and her children from time is quite nice for a change. But being shown constantly that he can do more for her children than she can makes her insecurities return.

"Sorry, Alma I didn't mean it like that. It was a joke but I see that it was inappropriate.," Ethan apologizes immediately. He never meant it to sound like that. He just wanted to do his part in supporting Horace and he knows that it must have been difficult for Alma to buy something that's so expensive.

"Yes it was!" Miss Peregrine confirms and takes a few dishes into the kitchen. Ethan looks into the children's faces, maybe for help or understanding. Some of them must know how to calm down their headmistress. He seems to say all the wrong things lately.

"She'll calm down again," Olive reassures Ethan after taking pity on him.

"But it wasn't nice what you said," Emma says her opinion.

"Maybe you just wanted to help but Miss Peregrine is quite sensible when it comes to something like that. She has always cared for us as best as she can and we couldn't have wished for someone better, but she doesn't see it like that. Furthermore she doesn't like accepting help at all," Olive explains smirking. But that soon faded as Miss Peregrine comes back from the kitchen.

"I'm really sorry, Alma. I just wanted to support Horace somehow. Because I'm really happy for his achievements as well. And you can practice with him and everything but I don't know anything about music, so let me at least do this for him," Ethan explains.

Miss Peregrine is just gathering more plates from the table and doesn't look up at Ethan.

"I've already paid for it so why should you give me back the money?" she asks coldly and leaves again.

"Because I know that you could better use it for something else," Ethan calls after her. Why does this woman has to be so stubborn and never accepts his help. "Besides," Ethan continues as Alma has come back again. "I've taken the boys to the match today and I will think of something similar for the girls. Then Horace would be the only one left out which isn't fair."

This makes Miss Peregrine look up from her work. She just shakes her head and sighs.

"Ok, then, if you really want to, you can give me the same amount a ticket for the match would have cost," she says and then takes more dishes into the kitchen.

Sighing, Ethan gives up and agrees. "Alright, alright," he calls and then stands up to help with the rest.

"But it's still a very nice suit and totally worth it's price," Ethan says and winks at Horace. He doesn't want the boy to feel guilty.

In the kitchen Ethan and Alma don't talk much. She is looking at him again and talks about the work in the kitchen but nothing more.

The rest of the evening is no different. Ethan stays for a while longer and they all watch a short movie together but soon the children get tired especially the boys who had a long day.

Miss Peregrine sends them to bed and Ethan says goodbye so she can go to bed herself.

The whole Sunday all of them take it easy. They sleep late and spend the whole day just doing what they feel like. Miss Peregrine does the washing but nothing more which is so not like her but secretly she enjoys a bit of free time too.

The younger children play board games in the living room as it has started raining outside, Millard is reading while Horace practices the piano again and the teenage girls are lying on the couch, talking and just relaxing.

Miss Peregrine and Bronwyn are in Bronwyn's room to practice her presentation. She's still a bit nervous but soon she knows exactly what she's going to say in front of her class tomorrow.

Meanwhile Enoch and Jake are reinstalling the router for the internet. Jake's parents had cancelled the contact before they left because Jake had told them that he didn't need it. Now Jake had called the provider, so they just have to install the router and the old computer will have internet access again.

As soon as they are finished, the boys come storming into the room and want to try it out. Miss Peregrine has to come to bring order into the excited crowd. Everyone is only allowed to spend 5 minutes at the computer for a start and there should always be a teenager there to keep an eye on them.

Like this the day passes quickly and soon they have all finished their dinner and are getting ready for bed. Miss Peregrine allows them to watch a short movie but wants them to go to bed early to be well rested for a new school week, especially after an eventful weekend.

As Miss Peregrine has tucked in the younger ones, has said goodnight to the other children and has assured Horace that he shouldn't feel guilty about his expensive suit, she's left in the living room alone.

Quickly she tidies up what her children have left lying around and sits down on the couch with a small glass of wine. After the many discussions of the last days, she really enjoys the time on her own.

But very soon she starts thinking about her fight with Ethan and she feels bad about it. Lately they have argued more and only about such small things that it could be very funny if it wasn't so depressing. What if this keeps happening and the more time they spend together the more often they fight? What if they have to realize that they aren't a perfect couple after all?

But Alma decides to push these thoughts away. She's always good at standing in her own way and talking herself into believing it. And that won't help her. So Alma stands up and gets the phone to call Ethan. She feels like she has to apologize for her reactions during the last days.

Ethan answers the call immediately, as if he had the phone in his hand and wanted to call her himself.

They both keep apologizing over and over again.

"It was my fault. It was insensitive and I didn't want to hurt you," Ethan says. "You have been living alone with your children for so long and you've managed brilliantly. And it was presumptuous of me to think that only with me you could afford something like that. You've always been a wonderful mother to them and even if you couldn't afford everything, there is so much more in life, which is more important than anything you can buy with money and I'm sure your children know that too."

"No," Alma insists. "I overreacted, like so often lately. I don't know why I'm doing it, I don't want to, it just keeps happening. I'm sorry. And I know that you just wanted the best for us all. And I really appreciate you doing this for us and spoiling my children as well as me from time to time."

"Let's agree that we both made mistakes," Ethan offers. "I will try to be more sensitive about it in the future. But if you'll let me I want to spend my money on you as well. I've been living alone for so long now. I've bought many things for myself but it didn't make me happy, I was still lonely. I want you to know that what you have with your children is so much more and I'm so grateful to be part of that now. And therefore I only want to share everything I have with you and your children. You've taken me in into your family and since then, all I have, is yours too."

Alma is so touched that she nearly starts crying. She's just happy that Ethan can't see her right now, then she would have cried for sure.

"Ok," she says relieved that they could make up again. "Thank you, this was such a sweet thing to say. And now I fell even worse to treating you like that. But I promise that I will appreciate it in the future!"

They keep talking for some time and tell each other what they have done for the day until they wish each other a good night and say that they look forward to seeing each other during the next week.

Relieved Miss Peregrine returns the phone to its place and cleans her glass before she wants to go to bed. But as she just wants to switch off the light, she sees the door of the room of her little one's open. A sleepy Bronwyn who has to squint her eyes against the bright light enters the living room.

"I can't sleep," she complaints to her ymbryne.

"Come here," Miss Peregrine says and embraces her girl into a hug before sitting down on the couch with Bronwyn.

"Is it because of tomorrow?" Miss Peregrine guesses and Bronwyn nods shyly.

"Don't be scared," Miss Peregrine tries to calm her down. "You presentation is really good. Nothing can happen, you know. You're well prepared and that's what counts. We both know that you've done your best and it doesn't matter what this teacher will say, alright?"

Bronwyn nods and smiles but is still a bit unsure.

"And if your teacher doesn't appreciate our work, he will have to talk to me," Miss Peregrine states and both of them have to laugh.

"I'd like to see that," Bronwyn giggles but too quickly this funny thought fades and the tension returns.

Miss Peregrine can feel it and tries to think of something else. And she gets help from someone she wouldn't have counted on ever, as the young cat returns and walks past the terrace door, pushing her face against the glass. Bronwyn notices her as well.

"Do you want to take her inside for a moment?" Miss Peregrine asks in her caring voice.

Bronwyn looks up at her ymbryne with surprise in her eyes.

"Really?" she asks doubtfully and Miss Peregrine nods. Quickly Bronwyn jumps to her feet and runs to the door to take the cat into her arms before walking back to the couch.

With the cat in her arms she snuggles back into Miss Peregrine's arms, who has leaned back into the couch. While Bronwyn keeps caressing and kissing the cat, who has started licking her face, Miss Peregrine begins to understand why her younger girls adore this little cat so much. She's really cute and even if she doesn't like cats much, this one's slowly winning her heart.

After some minutes as the cat as well as Bronwyn are beginning to fall asleep, Miss Peregrine tries to stand up with both of them in her arms. She carries Bronwyn into her bed and as she wants to take the cat from her, her girl starts to protest sleepily.

"Another time, ok?" Miss Peregrine promises so Bronwyn gives up the cat and Miss Peregrine takes her out of the room.

In the living room she wants to send the cat out of the terrace door but as she makes a sad sound, Miss Peregrine doesn't have the heart to kick her out into the rain. Therefore she overcomes her aversion against cats and prepares a small bed with a blanket next to the door. Alma just hopes that the cat will stay there until tomorrow and won't walk around the house or make anything dirty. Just in case she covers the couches with other blankets. Cat hair on the couch would be her worst nightmare.

Nonetheless, Miss Peregrine goes to bed very happy and she looks forward to an eventful next week.

And that's exactly what it's going to be: an eventful and stressful week.

The next morning Miss Peregrine is welcomed into the living room by a kiss from her little Claire as she has seen the cat inside the house as soon as she woke up to use the bathroom. Happily they all get ready for school and even Bronwyn who's a bit nervous again knows that life goes on, even if the teacher will be angry at her today.

But it's nothing like Bronwyn has expected her class to be. For a change, the teacher doesn't have much to criticise. He encourages her by praising her good work and even tells the other students to learn from Bronwyn.

On Tuesday Miss Peregrine picks up her oldest girls from school because they have an appointment with Catherine. After they have all completed their HPV vaccinations the time had finally come for Miss Peregrine to talk about contraception with them. Last week they've already had a talk at home together with the boys, about their relationships and how to behave sensible when it comes to a sexual relationship. Now Alma has decided to accept Catherine's help for her girls to get all the information about possible diseases and contraception. So soon they were all sitting in Catherine's office, talking about all the possibilities they have.

Emma and Olive quickly decided on a modern way of contraception - a hormonal subdermal implant - while Miss Peregrine was more comfortable with the conservative way. She didn't want to admit it but she's quite scared of needles or scalpels, so the implantation procedure is something she would definitely want to avoid. Catherine informed them about everything they need to know and gave Alma a prescription for a contraceptive pill before making another appointment for the two girls.

As they returned home, it was just soon enough to prepare dinner before Jake came back with the girls from their gymnastics training. They spend another quiet evening before going to bed. Of course the girls wanted to talk to Enoch and Jake about everything Catherine had to say before going to sleep. And also Miss Peregrine was still thinking about it all before falling asleep. She had to admit that the talk with her girls wasn't so hard after all, only this implantation is something she even fears thinking about. But Catherine really praised this new procedure and her girls seem to know what they are getting involved with. Relieved as well as nervous about the future Miss Peregrine falls asleep too.

The next big event this week is Horace's music competition. After school all of the children get ready for this big evening. All the boys wear elegant suits, the younger ones wearing the old ones of their older brothers and Enoch has borrowed one of Jake. For the girls it's easier to find some lovely dresses in their wardrobe but they don't look any less beautiful. Of course Horace steals them all the show but that's how it's supposed to be.

Early enough, Ethan picks them up and they drive to the school with their two cars.

Like a real concert pianist Horace handles his performance and no one is able to see his nervousness.

His accomplishment is highly praised by the jury, especially considering his young age.

In the end he comes second place as the first is a much older cellist. But every juror predicts him a promising future as a musician. Completely proud of his performance, Horace and the others leave the event.

To mark the occasion Ethan invites them all into an elegant restaurant. Briefly, Alma rolls her eyes but gladly accepts his invitation. After a big feast they return home, all children completely knackered. Claire has already fallen asleep in the car, so Alma carries her to her bed.

As all the children are in their beds, Alma and Ethan stay a little while longer in the living room. They talk about this special evening and even about their relationship, but only to reinforce their feelings for each other. And as none of them can keep their eyes open anymore, Ethan takes Alma into his arms and carries her into the bed, where they spend another night together after two weeks of sleeping separately.


	28. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Some weeks have passed since Horace represented his school at the music competition and by now it's already October. The weather has gotten colder but compared to any other places on earth it's probably still warm. Miss Peregrine still goes swimming from time to time but as always hasn't got too much time left while caring for her children.

A few weeks ago she has finally dragged them all to the dentist, except for Millard and the twins of course. This time no one could think of a way to let them be examined without showing their peculiarities. But Ethan has assured her that he will try to treat them if they'll get problems with their teeth.

None of the children wanted to go of course but in the end they all had to say that it wasn't too bad. A few of them had to endure a treatment but nothing major. Even if Miss Peregrine has always been strict with them when it came to their oral hygiene, 100 years of living doesn't leave any peculiar unaffected. Only Emma came back a bit terrified as the dentist told her that she will have to have her wisdom teeth removed when she wants to avoid the damage of her other back teeth.

Of course she has been really shocked and scared in the beginning but Jake could take her worries away by telling her how it was for him. He assured her that she won't feel anything as she will be under anaesthesia. And afterwards it will be painful but not for too long and when everything is over she won't feel any consequences.

Emma was still a bit nervous afterwards and wanted it to be over, so she was glad that the dentist had an appointment for her very soon.

The surgery had been on a Monday morning and as all the children were in school, Ethan had driven Emma and Miss Peregrine to the dentist and picked them up again as it was over. For Miss Peregrine it was nearly as scary as Emma when she had to watch her wake up from the anaesthesia. She felt so helpless as her girl was tossing and turning until she was awake. The wounds in her mouth have been bleeding slightly which could still be seen on Emma's lips. On the way back home Emma was still slightly dazed but at least she still didn't feel any pain as the earlier infusions were still wearing off.

At home Emma lied down in her bed immediately and Miss Peregrine was fussing over her. Bringing her cooling packs to help with the beginning swelling or helping her drink some cool water.

Soon the other children came back from school and Jake took over from Miss Peregrine. He spent every free minute at Emma's bed and saw to all her requests.

During the first day, Emma didn't dare move her mouth much, afraid that the wounds will open up again but soon it gets slightly better. Only the immense swelling is a big problem for Emma as it makes the whole thing more painful and it looks quite stupid.

As the younger children saw her first, they had to hide the grin on their face. But as Miss Peregrine glared at them they remembered that Emma was in pain and that it was completely inappropriate to laugh.

Miss Peregrine and even Jake had been quite worried about the swelling, especially after Jake said that it wasn't that bad for him, but Ethan could calm them down and explained that it's different for everyone. They can only help her by giving her something to cool her jaw.

All the time, Jake is really sweet with Emma. He stays at her bed and brings her something to drink or some iced fruits to cool her mouth from the inside.

Miss Peregrine helps her girl by caring for her when Jake is in school and by cooking her food that she can eat, like soups or porridge.

And after some days Emma already feels better and can help her ymbryne in the house- if she lets her that is. She's still staying at home though as she needs to rest for some time and can't really talk much but she doesn't have to stay in bed all the time.

On Thursday, as all the children have left for school and Alma had breakfast with Emma before doing the laundry she knocks at her girls door.

"Come in" is the answer so Miss Peregrine enters her room.

"I wanted to let you know that I'm going to meet Ethan for lunch now as I've told you yesterday. I hope it's still alright if you're here alone? There are also some sandwiches in the fridge when the others come home" she says.

"Alright and of course it is. I already feel much better, Miss P. and even if it still hurts sometimes, you can't help me with that anyway," Emma answers winking at her ymbryne.

"Ok, if you're sure. But if anything happens, you have Ethan's phone number, right?" Miss Peregrine wants to make sure.

"Yes, I do," Emma laughs and rolls her eyes at Miss Peregrine's mothering. "Have fun and say hello to Ethan from me."

"I will," Miss Peregrine says and leaves Emma to herself. She walks through the living room towards the terrace door. As she sees their new family member, the young cat, in the garden Miss Peregrine shakes her head. She's gotten used to her presence by now and admittedly, the cat is quite cute. But when transforming she's still annoying. Therefore Miss Peregrine locks the cat inside the house and transforms in the back yard. She always prefers flying to Ethan's office to taking the bus as she loves the feeling of being free and it's her workout at the same time.

Soon Alma arrives in front of Ethan's office. Approaching the house she sees a small crowd, which has gathered next to the front door. Alma has wanted to land in the small garden on the left side as always but today that seems to be impossible. Slightly annoyed she flies around the building. Why are these people standing around there and what are they doing anyway?

As Alma flies around the corner to the window of Ethan's office, she already sees the small bag, he has hung out for her. They have established this strategy so that she doesn't have to carry something to dress with her but still has some clothes. Carefully so that no one notices this strange behaviour for a bird she takes the bag in her beak and flies to the other side of the building. Luckily she finds some free bushes there and transforms back before putting on the dress Ethan has picked out. It's one of the dresses she has given him a few days ago. Sometimes though she would find new dresses in the bag that Ethan has bought her and very rarely he even encloses some sexy undergarments he got which leaves Alma wondering what he has in mind for the next evening they spend together.

As she's dressed again, Alma walks around the corner of the house to use the front entrance. The people are still standing on the sidewalk obviously looking at something in between the bushes Alma usually transforms in. But Alma is already a bit late because she quickly hung out the laundry so she ignores the crowd and walks straight into the building.

On the front desk, Amelia greets her very friendly.

"Oh hello Alma! Ethan is just seeing his last patient but he will be ready shortly. Just take your seat here," she says and points at one of the two chairs in the corridor.

Alma quickly gets a magazine out of the waiting room and sits down opposite of Amelia, who's just finishing some paperwork before taking her lunch break as well.

But suddenly there's starting a turmoil in the corridor coming from the entrance.

An older woman, around 50 years old, storms inside, followed by a few other people who are all talking loudly. The woman has a big blanket or something like that in her arms and starts calling.

"I need help. Here's supposed to be a doctor, right?"

Amelia walks over to her. "Yes, you're right here. What's wrong? Do you need a doctor?"

"No, not me," the woman says. "Her!" Then she reveals what's wrapped into the blanket in her arms - a small child, maybe 3 years old.

"Oh," Amelia exclaims, approaching them and also Alma places the magazine on the second chair and stands up to inspect the child closer.

The little girl wears old and dirty clothes, as dirty as her face. Her blonde hair is quite dishevelled and all in all this child seems neglected. Furthermore she looks very thin and fragile, even for her age.

"She's so cold, I don't know what's wrong with her but I'm sure she needs a doctor," the woman keeps talking.

"What happened? Is she your girl?" Amelia asks her.

"No, of course not! Do I look like that kind of woman?" she retorts offended and all the other people behind her start protesting as well.

"Ok but where did you get the child then?" Amelia keeps asking while Alma pushes away a bit of the blanket to look into the warm brown eyes of this young human being. She looks sad but at seeing Miss Peregrine her face lights up a bit.

"I've just found it, here outside," she says and points towards the front door. "So where is this doctor now. What if her condition is serious?"

His attention drawn to the racket outside Ethan opens the door of the examination room and steps outside.

"What's the matter?" he asks and takes in the sight in front of him.

"Here!" the woman says and steps towards him. "She needs a doctor."

Taken by surprise, Ethan hesitates for moment, looking at Alma and Amelia and then approaches the woman and the bundle in her arms.

"What happened?" Ethan asks professionally - back in his doctor mode and starts unwrapping the girl.

"How do I know," the woman says arrogantly. "You're the doctor and I've only just found her."

Confused Ethan looks at Amelia again who just shrugs and raises her eyebrows.

"Speaking of which: As it's not my child and I've already done my part. I'm in a hurry and she might be wetting herself or worse by the smell of it. I just can't use that right now. So would someone please take her?" the woman continues and holds the child out, wrinkling her nose. The other people go back a step as well.

Miss Peregrine who's the closest to them takes the child in her arms, ignoring the other woman's behaviour.

"I just couldn't leave her like that," the woman justifies herself but leaves at the same time, again with the whole crowd.

Puzzled, Ethan looks around again. He still doesn't understand everything that's happening around him, as well as the patient that comes out of the examination room behind him and says goodbye after excusing himself.

"Ok," Ethan begins. "Then let's take a look at this child." Then he leads Alma into one of his examination rooms. She holds the child close to her chest, hoping that it might give her some security.

Entering the room Alma sits down on the gurney and unwraps the child completely, sitting her down on her lap for Ethan to see her.

She looks even worse than expected, probably hasn't eaten for a long time or at least not enough. Her skin is really dry indicating that she hasn't drunk either.

"What do you think happened to her?" Alma asks and Ethan shrugs.

"I don't know. But it definitely looks like she's been on her own for too long. Maybe she got lost or something..." Ethan guesses.

"Maybe," Alma agrees and rubs the arms of the young girl. "She really does feel too cold. What might be wrong with her?" she asks concerned.

"Let me take a look at her," Ethan says and kneels down in front of them. He touches the girls skin which is definitely abnormally cold before examining her eyes, mouth, ears and then checks her temperature.

"That's strange," Ethan frowns. "Her temperature is completely normal, not too low neither too high."

"How can that be?" Alma asks. "I've got no idea," Ethan answers.

"But what I know is that she's seriously dehydrated." Then Ethan walks over to the sink to fill a glass with water, which he hands Alma so she can make the child drink.

"I'm slowly getting the impression that this poor child has been abandoned," Ethan sighs and walks back to his chair.

Greedily the girl swallows some water as Alma places the glass in front of her lips and as that doesn't seem enough she grabs for the glass with her little hands. Miss Peregrine can barely hold onto the glass but suddenly she lets it drop and it falls to the ground, shards flying around everywhere.

"Alma!" Ethan shouts and storms to her. "What happened?" he asks concerned. "Are you hurt?"

Miss Peregrine just shakes her head and looks at the ground in disbelief. "I...I don't know..." she stammers. "The glass suddenly got really cold."

Confused, Ethan kneels down again and inspects the glass on the ground. There is no puddle of water, which is strange as the girl hasn't barely drunk half of the water. Then he takes a shard in his hand to take a closer look but as soon as it touches his skin he sees that it's not glass but ice.

"How is that possible?" Ethan asks and looks back up at Alma. Alma as well doesn't know what to say as her brain tries to process what just happened.

"She's peculiar," she finally manages to say and Ethan looks back in shock


	29. Chapter 14 Part II

**Chapter 14 Part II**

"What?" Ethan exclaims.

"She froze the water, as soon as she touched the glass, she froze the water. That's why she feels so cold," Alma is finally able to put one and one together.

"Are you sure?" Ethan asks and Alma nods confidently.

"Wow," Ethan just says and has to sit down. "Now that I know about it all, the peculiars keep popping up to follow me," he jokes and Alma has to laugh too.

"It seems like it," she answers, still smiling. "Even I have never seen something like that. Of course I've searched for peculiar children a lot but never has one found me."

"This poor child!" Ethan sighs then. "Why would someone abandon such a young child."

"I know, it's just cruel. But it happens a lot. I found Claire alone as she was just a baby. Most parents just can't cope with it and don't know what else to do."

"But there are institutions in this time," Ethan explains to Alma. "No child should be left alone somewhere."

"Maybe her mother or father was scared that someone would be able to track her or him down," Alma guesses.

"Maybe...But why now. This child is round about 3 years old. If the parents didn't want her, they could have left her way earlier."

"Peculiarities develop with time," Alma tries to explain. "It's very likely, that hers hasn't started to show not too long ago."

"But when you bring up a child for more than three years you don't just give it away, do you?" Ethan asks.

"No, maybe not. I couldn't but I've never been in a position like that. You should be able to understand it as you've been thrown into this crazy stuff without warning as well. Maybe it's just the shock of something so unknown that makes them forget how much they love their child," Alma guesses.

Ethan thinks about it and it's right. Thinking about how he first saw Alma's peculiarity he remembers that he briefly forgot his feelings for her too.

As he snaps back into the present Ethan sees Alma removing the blanket form the child's back as well.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"She wears a little children's rucksack," Alma answers and frees the small bag.

"What's in there?" Ethan asks curiously and sits down next to Alma who extracts a little stuffed animal and an envelope.

Immediately the child starts squirming in Alma's lap and turns around to get her toy. Alma and Ethan have to smile at seeing her so happy all of a sudden.

While the child starts playing with the little monkey, Alma opens the envelope to find a letter, which she begins reading.

"It's from her mother," Alma tells Ethan. "She writes that she's very sorry but that she can't keep her with such abnormal abilities. It was difficult enough to calm down her father and keep him from hurting her but he said he won't let her stop him again if she doesn't get rid of the child."

Ethan just shakes his head and waits for Alma to continue.

"The child's name is Lupina and she's nearly 3 years old. The mother hopes that she will be found by someone who takes good care of her and she will never forget her."

"Then she should have left her partner and stayed with her child!" Ethan retorts angrily.

Alma sighs. "I know," she says. "But I've seen this so often by now and I'm really sure that it's not easy for most of the parents. Especially because they have normally lived with their children for some years before their peculiarities show for the first time. But they're desperate and don't know what else to do," Alma explains to Ethan. But he just shrugs.

"I still don't understand it. I mean I get that they are shocked, I was too. But I would never give away the child that I love, never!"

"Then, you're a really good man!" Alma tells him and strokes his cheek with her hand, which makes him smile again. Ethan takes Alma's hand and plants a kiss on it.

"So what are we going to do now?" he asks then.

"Taking her with us of course," Alma answers as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"You want to keep her?" Ethan asks astonished. "Isn't that a bit too much for you?"

"Of course not, Ethan. That's what we ymbrynes do!" Alma answers smiling.

"That is when you have no objections...Is she healthy enough or does she need further medical attention?" she asks concerned.

"If you're really sure. Yes, she is! She's half starved and dehydrated but that can be treated easily at home, " Ethan assures her.

"Ok, than let's go home!" Alma says and kisses Ethan.

"So no lunch break today, I guess," Ethan jokes while they both stand up laughing. Lupina is still playing with her stuffed monkey but joins their laugh.

"No, not today," Alma laughs. "And isn't this so much better than lunch?" she asks while pointing at the giggling toddler in her arms.

"It is!" Ethan agrees as Lupina is just clapping in her hands before turning around to look at Alma directly.

"Ma-ma..." she says, still clapping and then trying to tickle Miss Peregrine, who starts laughing but gets serious again. "No, sorry, sweetheart," she says in her softest voice. "I'm not your mum, I'm Miss Peregrine, can you say that?" she challenges Lupina who's still laughing, obviously not understanding that her mother has left her for good. She tries to say something that's supposed to mean 'Miss Peregrine' but is not really identifiable.

Ethan and Alma both have to smile at that, even if they are still sad for the girl but at the same time surprised that she's taking it so well and is still smiling, even after some hard days.

Then they both leave the examination room to drive home. Amelia has also left for her lunch break, so the office is empty.

"We have to stop at a shop, though," Alma points out. "She definitely needs new clothes as well as diapers."

"Oh yes, definitely! That's one thing the woman was right about."

"But she was a shameless and totally unfriendly person."

"At least she was decent enough to help the girl," Ethan adds and Alma nods while they enter the car. As Ethan still has no car seat for children , Alma takes Lupina on her lap and fastens the seat belt around them both.

Arriving at a big supermarket, Ethan would have wanted Alma to stay in the car with the child but she doesn't trust him to buy all the right things they need. And as she can't take the child with her either, Ethan has to stay with her in the car.

Quickly, Alma gets all the basics for a little child. Some trousers and shirts, socks, underwear, pyjamas and she can't resist as she finds a beautiful little dress, even if the summer season is long over. Then she gets some packages of diapers before returning to the car, where Ethan is entertaining the little girl.

Smiling Alma enters the car and takes the child back on her lap.

"Did you get everything?"Ethan asks her.

"Yes, I did," Alma assures him. "And you too got on pretty well, I see."

"Oh, yes. It's just amazing. Since we are alone with her, she hasn't cried one time. Not even if she must be feeling unwell in her state."

"Yes, it's amazing. Maybe she just needed some company after the time alone."

"Maybe."

As they arrive at the house of Jake's parents Ethan's lunch break is nearly over so he just drops the two girls off and promises to come by after work.

Miss Peregrine takes Lupina in one arm and the shopping bags under the other and enters the house.

The living room is empty, so she puts the bags on the table and goes to Emma's room.

"Have you been alright alone?" Alma asks while entering the room.

"Yes, everything was fine," Emma assures her, still speaking a bit strange because of the swelling.

She's just sitting on her desk and slowly turns towards the door and her ymbryne as she hears an unknown sound.

"Who is that?" Emma asks in surprise as she sees the little girl in her ymbryne's arms.

"This is Lupina and she's going to stay with us!" Miss Peregrine tells her.

"How come and what happened to her, she looks terrible!" Emma keeps asking.

"The same thing as to you all," Miss Peregrine answers honestly.

"You mean she was abandoned? How terrible!" Emma exclaims.

"Yes, she was found next to Ethan's office and a woman brought her inside."

"But how come you took her with you, I mean there are institutions here that take care of abandoned children, right?" Emma says.

"Right," Miss Peregrine agrees. "But peculiar children are still my job," she adds smirking.

"What? She's peculiar?" Emma asks in shock. She would have never expected that!

"She is!" Miss Peregrine confirms.

"That's pretty early at her age," Emma points out and Miss Peregrine nods. "What is her peculiarity? And how did you know?" Emma wants to know.

"I wanted to give her something to drink and as she touched the glass, the water froze immediately."

"Wow" Emma says.

"Anyway," Miss Peregrine continues as the girl in her arm starts squirming. She would have set her down on the ground but she needs to clean her first.

"Have the others eaten the sandwiches?"

"We have!" Claire exclaims as she comes running into the room. She has heard her ymbryne coming as she was playing with the twins. From behind she, followed by the twins, approaches her ymbrine and wants to hug her as she notices the foreign child.

"Who's that ?" she asks curiously and also the twins make some excited noises.

"That's Lupina and she's going to live with us," Miss Peregrine explains again. "Ask Emma for more information, I need to take care of this little girl now." With that Miss Peregrine exits the room, only calling back to ask if Emma has eaten as well.

"There were some leftovers of your soup from yesterday in the fridge."

"Yes, Miss P., I've found them, thank you!" Emma answers before she's distracted by her three younger siblings who come storming towards her, bombarding her with questions.

Meanwhile, Miss Peregrine has taken Lupina as well as her new clothes into the bathroom, where she fills the bathtub with some warm water.

First she starts undressing the child. Her clothes are really dirty and even broken but Alms decides to clean it except for putting it in a bin. Apart from the letter and her monkey, it's the only thing Lupina has from her previous life and Alma knows just too well how important that will be to her in the future. As she has placed the old and dirty diaper in the a plastic bin she can finally start washing the girl.

But that sounds easier than it really is. Until now Alma hasn't though how the peculiarity will affect such a little task as washing. As soon as she places the child in the lukewarm water it starts getting colder until it nearly turns to ice. Quickly Alma pulls out the child again to dry her until she has replaced the water again.

This goes on a few times until Miss Peregrine decides that it doesn't work like that. This time she chooses a higher temperature for the water in the beginning. She lets it be as high as her own hands can take it and as soon as she feels the temperature going down just a bit she takes out the child until it has calmed down enough to have her peculiarity under control.

Miss Peregrine has noticed that it only happens as the child gets distracted, either by playing with the little plastic duck, that's normally Claire's toy, or when she touches parts of the little girl's body that seem to hurt.

Concerned Alma takes in the old bruises that are still visible and just hopes that they happened accidentally and that she wasn't abused by her father, even if she knows that there's a pretty good chance of that.

After one hour, Miss Peregrine is finally ready and Lupina is clean, wears a new diaper and her new clothes. Her beautiful hair is combed and put into a French plait which makes her look even more adorable.

By now, the other children have returned from school as well and they are all very excited and keep asking questions as soon as Miss Peregrine returns into the living room with Lupina.

As so many new faces approach her, Lupina gets uncharacteristically shy and hides in Miss Peregrine's arms, so Miss Peregrine needs to act on it.

"Ok, children. I understand that you're all excited but this is too much for Lupina. I have to start with the dinner now and someone needs to take care of her. But not all at the same time, alright?"

The children nod.

Emma and Jake decide to retreat into Emma's room as she likes to lie down because the pain has returned once more. Also Millard and Horace go to read something. Olive volunteers to care for the girl and Enoch offers to help their ymbryne in the kitchen. The rest of the children are allowed to stay if they keep their distance a bit and don't overstrain the little girl.

Olive takes Lupina on her lap and they play together with a few toys Claire has gotten out of her room as Miss Peregrine has put Lupina's little monkey into the washing machine with the rest of her clothes.

Fiona and Hugh watch them from a distance, talking. Claire and Bronwyn soon join in with Olive and Lupina while the twins just sit with them on the couch, obviously quite excited as they don't stop making noises.

While Miss Peregrine is just cooking a soup for Emma, the door bell rings and she opens it to see Ethan. Entering, his gaze immediately wanders to the children on the couch. He barely recognizes the little girl from this morning.

"Wow," he just says while kissing Alma on her cheek.

"How is she doing?"

"Great actually. Just as all the children wanted to see her at once, she got a bit shy," Miss Peregrine explains.

"And how did the washing go?" Ethan wants to know as he's curious how Alma managed with the girl's peculiarity in a bathtub.

"It was difficult but in the end we managed," Alma laughs while returning to the kitchen, where some vegetables were boiling on the stove. After saying hello to the children and especially Lupina, Ethan joins her and helps by preparing a salad.

As they've finished with everything, Ethan sets the table while Alma calls the children and goes into the bathroom with Lupina to wash her hands, followed by all the other children.

At the table, Miss Peregrine has Lupina sitting on her lap, because they don't have a highchair. She's feeding her something from her own plate, amazed to see how many things the little girl already eats. All her other children had been a lot more fussy as they first came to her. And how much she eats... Alma even has to stop her after some time as she doesn't want the girl to get sick from eating too much after a long time without any food.

The other children are all still really excited and keep watching Lupina. Claire who sits next to Miss Peregrine as always even wants to feed her too.

But soon as Miss Peregrine has started eating herself, the toddler gets more quiet and has problems keeping her eyes open.

Therefore Ethan offers to clean up the table and the kitchen while Alma can get the girl ready for bed. Gladly she accepts his offer and takes Lupina into the bathroom to change her clothes as well as her diaper before brushing her teeth. Miss Peregrine has always spare toothbrushes in the cabinet for emergencies like this as she doesn't tolerate one of her children not brushing their teeth before going to bed - not one time.

And Lupina does really good again. Something Alma hasn't expected to be honest. But it shows her that she was brought up well so far and that her parents or at least her mother must have really loved her. Though at the same time it makes her quite sad, that the separation of this young family had to happen.

Afterwards the girl is so tired, that she nearly falls asleep in Miss Peregrine's arm as she carries her into her own room. They don't have any other beds and she wants her near during the night anyway. As she lays the girl into her bed and covers her with a second blanket, Lupina snuggles into the cushion and presses one of Claire's stuffed animals into her face before yawning and falling asleep peacefully.

Miss Peregrine stays for a little while longer to watch the sleeping toddler before she returns to the living room.

Ethan has already finished with everything and is sitting on the table with some of the children, who wanted to hear the full story about how they found Lupina. Alma sits down with them and joins in before they all go to bed.

Ethan and Alma stay for a little while longer before he leaves to drive home and Miss Peregrine gets ready for bed and then joins Lupina who's still sleeping soundly.

The night itself is less restful for Miss Peregrine. The girl just wakes up twice and falls asleep very soon again though, but Miss Peregrine can't really sleep as there are so many thoughts in her head and she's quite afraid of turning and waking up the child.


	30. Chapter 14 Part III

**Chapter 14 Part III**

 **Thank you everyone for still reading my story and for all the great reviews. It makes me really happy to read what you all think. For the future I will still try to write as much as possible but I probably won't be able to keep up the pace as before. I hope there will still be people who like what I write even though there are times when even I am unsatisfied with it. Nonetheless I will do my best and as always I'm open for suggestions and will try to give them a go, should it fit in with my plans for the story ;)**

The next days settle down for all of them. Of course they all have to get used to the new situation in the house but Lupina quickly settles into their big family. With time she gets more confident and even starts talking more. At first Miss Peregrine was afraid that the girl was a bit slow in her development as she hasn't been talking much but now she's relieved that it was just because of the big change in her life.

All in all Lupina is a good child, not crying often, always happy and curious. But nonetheless she's a handful and Alma doesn't have much free time any more. Therefore she's really happy that Emma's still staying at home for two days and is feeling so good again that she's playing a lot with Lupina or helps with the housework.

Ethan has been quite busy for the last days and couldn't stop by but on one afternoon he finds the time to visit them again.

He has even brought a new toy for Lupina, which she's really happy about and hugs Ethan as soon as she's seen it. Even if he hasn't been around for some time, she still remembers him.

The whole afternoon, Ethan plays with the children in the garden, playing football or hide and seek, all the time taking care that even Lupina is well integrated.

Miss Peregrine is really happy and watches them while sitting on the terrace with the teenage girls. She's also happy to have a free minute after being there to play with them the whole week. Soon though she has to go back inside to prepare the dinner.

During the meal, Ethan asks a lot of questions, how's Lupina doing and how's everything going on in the house. Seeing how tired Miss Peregrine looks, he also asks about their sleeping arrangements, offering to get an own bed for the child. But Miss Peregrine declines friendly, still wanting the child close to her and not alone after such a traumatising time.

After they've all finished eating, Alma quickly brings the girl to bed. The teenagers have offered to clean up as they don't want Ethan doing all the work in their household.

Meanwhile Ethan stays seated at the table, talking to the boys about school and especially football. Hugh and Millard are really excited as they've just won a big match last weekend, against the best team in their league. Ethan is really proud of them and promises to come and watch their next match. Even with the twins he has found a way to communicate, half with sign language and half with noises. They too have gotten quite good and get to play a lot in their team as opposed to only being substitutes.

After a while, maybe an hour, the children say goodnight and go to bed as well as they have school the next morning.

After cleaning up his glass in the kitchen, Ethan quietly enters Miss Peregrine's room to see what's taking her so long as she wanted to come back after Lupina is asleep. But instead of seeing Lupina still awake and to excited to go to sleep, Ethan sees Alma lying next to the girl in the bed, sleeping herself.

Smiling to himself Ethan watches them for a few seconds, even thinking about taking a photo of this adorable sight. But before he can decide on it, Alma already opens her eyes and carefully lifts herself into a sitting position.

"Oh, what time is it?" she asks Ethan, still a bit disorientated after being ripped out of her sleep.

"It's half past nine," Ethan answers and sits down on the small couch on the opposite of the bed.

"Oh, this late already? I just wanted to lie down with Lupina until she's asleep, but I must have dozed off, " she says surprised and rubs her sleepy eyes. Ethan just smiles at her compassionately.

"It's alright, I only came because I was wondering what you're doing. Are you alright?"

Miss Peregrine nods slowly. "Just a mild headache."

Ethan nods understandingly. "You look tired, " he points out.

"Yeah, I'm not used to this kind of childcare anymore, I guess," Miss Peregrine laughs quietly.

"That's exactly what I meant when I first asked you if you really wanted to take her home with you," Ethan begins carefully.

"You already had a lot of stress before we found her and a toddler means so much more work."

Miss Peregrine wants to say something but her reflexes are still a bit slower from the sleep and Ethan continues quickly.

"You've already been worn out often and prone to illnesses as it was. You're not as young anymore as you might have been when you found Claire. You need more rest and not less!" Ethan tries to convince her.

"The other ymbrynes are a lot older than I am," Alma argues. "Besides, Lupina has only gotten used to us and she's happy here. I doubt that it's good for her if she gets pushed around like that. And I have the youngest children, with the other ymbrynes she would be by far the youngest. And furthermore I've missed such an adorable little girl in the house for so many years, since Claire and Bronwyn grew older," Alma admits.

"I can understand you, Alma. And yes it wouldn't be the best for Lupina. But here, it is no real alternative. An ymbryne, who's always tired or even sick won't help her either and she doesn't even have a bed or a room where she could stay. This house is too small as it is already and Jake's parents might come back soon," Ethan insists.

"You're right about the house, I will have to look for a new place to stay soon, I know that but it shouldn't be the reason for giving Lupina away.

"Please, Alma, think about it," Ethan begs her. He adores the small child as well but he can't see a future for her here with Miss Peregrine already exhausted after a few days.

"I will," Miss Peregrine promises before yawning.

"Ok but now you better go to sleep. Your children are all in bed already and the kitchen is cleaned up," Ethan convinces her.

"Thank you, but let me brush my teeth and change into my night gown first please," Alma teases him and Ethan nods laughing.

"I would stay here tonight but I see there's no room for me in your bed anymore," Ethan jokes while Alma brushes her teeth.

"So, that's the real reason why you want her gone again? You're jealous" Alma teases him but still laughs with the toothpaste foam in her mouth.

"Of course not," Ethan says and walks towards Alma to put his arms around her. As she's finished, she turns around to kiss Ethan before lying her head against his chest. They stay like that for some time, with Ethan stroking her back until she nearly falls asleep again. Finally they part and Ethan wishes her a good night while Alma climbs into bed, before he leaves first her room and then the house.

The next week passes by similarly. But as Emma is going to school again, Miss Peregrine has even more on her plate. She still does all the usual things for all her children like preparing the meals, doing the washing or other household duties before she spends time with them in the afternoon. Only now in addition she has to take care of Lupina all of the time. She can't leave her out of her eyes. There are the normal dangers for little children and in addition to it there is her peculiarity that can get dangerous. Of course Miss Peregrine has started training with Lupina from the first day but it's only playing with her peculiarity and nothing compared to what she did with Olive. Nonetheless, Lupina has already made progress and can nearly control her peculiarity when it comes to important situations like taking a bath or drinking out of a glass. But it takes a lot of time and patience from Miss Peregrine. The little time she usually used for herself is now gone.

So it's no wonder that she's completely exhausted after the second week. Ethan has come sometimes on the afternoons, watching her and helping her as best as he could. So he also stops by on Friday. But as he sees Alma's state he immediately brings Lupina to Olive and takes Alma aside to talk to her.

"This can't go on like this!" he states, sitting down on the couch in her room again.

"I know," Miss Peregrine sighs, sitting down next to him, resting her head against his shoulder.

"But I don't have the heart to give her away." All of a sudden Alma gets really sad and all her doubts about herself return. _What kind of ymbryne is she, when she can't take on any children, when she doesn't have the strength to care for them all anymore?_

Ethan, who already knows her quite well, sees it in her eyes.

"Look at me, Alma," he says. "You're not weak and definitely not a bad caretaker. Far from it. I'm pretty sure that you are the best! Your children respect and love you, they see you like their own mother and that's an enormous achievement. But everyone reaches the point where he can't do more. And you already care for more children than any of the other ymbrynes, right?"

Alma nods reluctantly and looks down at lap again, so Ethan continues.

"You need to take care of yourself. You owe that to all your children. And I've watched you the last week. You're tired, more edgy and your headaches have gotten more frequent, am I right?"

Miss Peregrine doesn't know what to say to that.

"You won't be able to keep this up for long," Ethan predicts.

"I would miss her terribly," Alma finally says and a few tears start streaming down her cheeks. Ethan takes her in his arms to comfort her.

"Me too, he says. "But it's surely best for everyone. Don't be sad, you're surely able to visit her whenever you want."

Miss Peregrine nods into his shoulder.

"Talk to another ymbryne and then we'll bring her there on the weekend," Ethan says.

"So soon?" Miss Peregrine asks shocked and looks up at him, crying again.

"It's easier when we don't wait any longer - for all of us!" Ethan assures her and holds her tight to his chest until she calms down again.

As Miss Peregrine has regained her composure, Ethan leaves her alone to call Miss Avocet. Alma hopes that Miss Avocet herself has some free capacities because she sees her as a kind of mother herself and knows how caring she can be with little children. And even if she can't take her, she surely knows who will be able to. But she's lucky: Miss Avocet is happy to take a new girl and she can take Alma's worries away and tells her that she has even two other smaller new children living with her now. After she has listened to Alma's reasons for her decision and comforted her, they keep talking for a while. About all that's going on in their lives and as well in whole peculiardom as Alma is not really up to date anymore, since living in the present. She even tells her about her relationship with Ethan and everything about him that Miss Avocet doesn't know from her last calls after Alma's bird-incident. Miss Avocet is so happy for her young ymbryne and wants to meet this caring and understanding young man as well.

Meanwhile Ethan talks to the rest of the children in the living room. He wanted to help Alma by taking that responsibility from her. Of course they are all really sad but can understand the reasons. They, too, have seen their ymbryne struggling for the last two weeks. But nonetheless, they will miss this little girl so much - all of them. Olive has taken Lupina away while Ethan talked to the rest but as they've finished they sit down on the couches all together.

None of them wants to see a movie tonight as they all want to spend as much time as possible with Lupina. One after another they take her on their laps and play with her. By now she knows all of their names even if she can't pronounce them correctly and every time she faces another child she tries to name them. Olive is cuddling her while Claire and Bronwyn play with her and their dolls.

Soon Miss Peregrine joins them after talking to Ethan about her talk with Miss Avocet. They have decided not to wait any longer and bring Lupina to her tomorrow morning.

Still sad but wanting to make the most of their remaining time Miss Peregrine sits down next to Olive and Lupina and watches them laughing and having fun. They all stay awake until none of them and especially not Lupina can keep her eyes open any longer, which is quite late. Surely she must feel the change in the atmosphere. All of them just hope that Lupina will take it well tomorrow and that they will be able to visit her again.

As Lupina has fallen asleep on Miss Peregrine's lap she sends the other children to bed and brings Lupina to her room. After Ethan and her have tidied up and gotten ready a well, they lay down next to the little girl. Ethan has decided to stay for the night, to be there for Alma as well as enjoying the last time with Lupina, who he's grown to love as well.

Both adults climb under the blanket on each side of the bed and move closer together, Lupina lying in the middle between them. She stays asleep but seems to take in what's going on around her and snuggles into the arms of Ethan and Alma. Ethan has laid his arm around Alma, who lies her head onto his shoulder.

For a little moment they just lay there and savour the moment before Alma falls asleep. It's a restless night for both of them with not much space and the little girl in between them, who they don't want to wake up. Furthermore they can't stop thinking about their trip tomorrow. And while Alma is more worried for the farewell, Ethan thinks a lot about meeting Miss Avocet for the first time.

After Alma has talked to her, she informed Ethan that she wants to meet him. Therefore Miss Avocet will travel to the nearest loop via their Panloopticon while Alma and Ethan will be driving there by car. As Ethan won't be able to enter the loop they will meet in front of the loop entrance in a little cafe.

Early in the morning, Miss Peregrine can't fall asleep anymore and decides to get up. Carefully she frees herself from Ethan's and Lupina's limbs before leaving the room. Normally she would get dressed and everything but she doesn't want the other two to wake up as there's still a bit time until they have to leave.

As quietly as she can, Alma walks through the living room and sits down on the couch. She's still feeling really sad and feels terrible for being the reason why they have to bring Lupina away. Deep in thoughts she doesn't notice how the time flies and soon a few of her other children have joined her on the couch. They, too, know how difficult this is for their ymbryne and feel sorry for her. The little ones are lying next to her and in her lap while the older ones sit around them.

As soon as Ethan comes with Lupina in his arms, Alma snaps out of her thoughts and starts preparing the breakfast. Not all of the children are awake yet but she doesn't want to get them as they have the rule to sleep late on the weekends.

During breakfast not many of them talk. Only Lupina who doesn't know what's about to happen is laughing as much as ever.

After Miss Peregrine has finished eating and feeding Lupina she goes into her room to pack up Lupina's things.

As she returns all the other children have come out of their rooms as well and they are already saying goodbye to Lupina. Ethan has told the little girl that she's going away to a very nice place. Some of the children give her little presents. Claire and Bronwyn have chosen one of their dolls, the twins a little wooden toy and Olive has gotten a pair of her old gloves, that she wore when she was this little. She hopes that they will help Lupina as much as they have helped her.

But too soon the time to leave has come and all of them say goodbye until Ethan and Alma with Lupina in her arms sit down in the car.

It's only a 3-hours drive during which Alma keeps caressing Lupina and playing with her to distract her as well as herself. A few times they have to stop because either Alma or Lupina need the loo.

But early enough they arrive in a little town in the middle of the Everglades where Ethan parks the car next to the cafe where they are going to meet Miss Avocet.

Alma takes Lupina out of the car and they sit down in a corner and order some drinks for themselves. As Lupina seems to have fallen in laugh with a cake in the display window, Ethan also buys her one piece to spoil her one last time.

They have to wait for some time until Miss Avocet arrives. But that was the plan as she shouldn't stay out of a loop longer than necessary.

She sees them as soon as she enters the cafe and walks over to them to embrace Alma into a tight hug. They haven't seen each other since they all travelled here one year ago. And she has missed her.

After they part Miss Avocet turns around to greet Ethan. She's immediately mesmerized by this good-looking and friendly as well as decent man. Then Miss Avocet, despite her age, kneels down and greets Lupina. First the little girl keeps her distance and hides behind Alma's legs but Miss Avocet with all her experience knows exactly what to do to win her trust.

Soon she keeps playing with the girl while talking to Miss Peregrine and Ethan. She's very interested how their lives are here in the present and also how it is for Ethan to live with so many peculiars. Then she feels like she has to cheer up Alma and assure her that it's not weak to make the decision to give away the child. Of course Miss Avocet has seen the fatigue in Alma's eyes, the minute she saw her and she knows exactly that Alma has always been too stubborn for her own good.

Way too early though, Miss Avocet has to leave again which means goodbye for Ethan, Alma and Lupina. With some tears in her eyes, Alma takes Lupina in her arms one last time, kisses her and says her goodbye. The little girl doesn't really know what happens but she feels that it's something sad. Meanwhile Miss Avocet says goodbye to Ethan, telling him that she's really happy to have met him and that she's glad that he forgave Alma. She's sure that he's a perfect man for Alma and seems to know exactly how to handle her.

As Ethan has said goodbye as well and Alma has kissed the child for the hundredth time, Miss Avocet takes Lupina's hand while assuring Alma that she can visit them every time or call whenever she wants.

Nodding sadly, Alma waves at Lupina one last time before the little girl follows Miss Avocet out of the cafe. By now she has somehow understood what's happening and is crying as well, not wanting to leave the woman she spend the last weeks with.

Alma calls after them that she will visit soon. She has to fight against the urge to run after them, embracing the toddler and never letting her go again but she knows that it's better like that. Ethan has his arm around Alma, holding her tight until they can't see the girl anymore and Alma turns around, sobbing into his chest. They stay like that a little while longer until Alma feels slightly better before Ethan pays for their drinks and they return to the car.

On their way back home, they don't talk much. A few times, Alma starts crying again. Then Ethan would take and squeeze her hand. After two hours, Alma calms down, lulled into sleep by the rhythm of the engine. Ethan is happy about it, as he knows how much she needed it.

At home though, there's not much time for sadness. The chaos of their everyday life quickly catches up with Miss Peregrine and she's busy enough with all her other children.

Sometimes she still thinks about Lupina, of course, but she has to admit that Ethan was right and that it's better like this. And Miss Avocet is a wonderful ymbryne and her character is so much younger than her real age. Therefore Alma has no doubts that the little Lupina will get along very well with her new ymbryne. Alma herself had felt at home there from the first moment and if she has just learned half of what makes Miss Avocet a good ymbryne, Alma can be very happy with herself. And even if she couldn't keep Lupina she promises herself that she will try and make it up by doing her best for her other children.


	31. Chapter 15 Part I

**Chapter 15**

 **The next chapter is quite similar to things I've written before. But I had this idea and thought about it so much that I simply had to write it down. So I'm happy if someone likes it but I completely understand everyone who thinks that it's nearly the same as before. Nonetheless enjoy if you decide on reading it. Parts might be rated M, just to be save!**

 **Part I**

It's another chaotic morning in the house of Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children. Like always, one bathroom isn't enough and the teenagers keep fighting over the shower while the younger ones who usually take a bath in the evenings only want to brush their teeth, wash their faces or use the toilet.

Miss Peregrine is in the kitchen preparing the breakfast and lunchboxes but has to run into the boys room a couple of times because they don't seem to get up easily today.

And then, there are Emma and Jake, who seem to think that this morning is the best time to talk to their ymbryne about a request.

So while their other siblings are already sitting at the table, eating breakfast, they join Miss Peregrine in the kitchen.

As there won't be school this Friday because of a local holiday, they would like to go out on Thursday. Since Enoch's birthday none of them has been out often, always afraid to ask Miss Peregrine. But this time it's a birthday party of Emma's best friend, a girl who's been in Jake's class as well for years.

Reluctantly Miss Peregrine allows them to go there even if she knows that there will be alcohol and who knows what other drugs. But it won't help her teenagers if she keeps them in the house away from all bad influences. Besides, Miss Peregrine trusts them and knows that they are sensible enough to handle such things.

But as Emma and Jake still aren't satisfied and ask for another favour, Miss Peregrine hesitates with her answer. As they both will return quite late, they thought it would be best if they slept in the same room as not to disturb the others. The fact that they really just want to share a bed together, they try to hide. But Miss Peregrine doesn't really buy it and knows exactly what they are planning for the night, since none of her teenagers have been able to spend a night together since the girls finished their vaccinations.

Smirking, she nods eventually. After several talks with Ethan as well as Catherine, she now feels more comfortable with the thought of her teenagers being in a sexual relationship. Maybe even her own sex life with Ethan helps and makes her more relaxed than she used to be.

Happy and relieved Jake and Emma run off and join the others at the table.

Shaking her head but still smiling, Miss Peregrine finishes with the lunchboxes before going into the living room herself.

Finally they are all ready and leave for school, so Miss Peregrine is left with cleaning up and doing the laundry. As she's finished she thinks that there's still time to go for a little flight. She hasn't been up in the sky for some days now and thinks that the exercise will be good for her.

Leaving the house she is surprised by the cold weather. Of course it's not really cold, just compared to the last months. They are all used to much colder weather from Wales but it's amazing how quickly they got used to the mild weather here and perceive this temperature as cold. It's even beginning to drizzle and the clouds are getting darker but that's not really strange as it's already November.

Nonetheless Alma doesn't change her mind and goes through with her plan. She transforms in the backyard where no one can see her and then flies over the city towards the woods.

Soon she enjoys the wind around her body and gets lost in her thoughts. She still thinks about Lupina quite often. Nearly every second day she calls Miss Avocet to see how they are doing and sometimes she can even speak to the little girl. By what she's saying, Lupina is really happy though. Miss Avocet is lovely and caring and also the other children are really friendly, especially the two other little ones.

Then Miss Peregrine's thought drift off again and she thinks about Emma and Jake. Hopefully everything will turn out alright this evening and also during the night. She wants everything to be as perfect as the two must be expecting it to be even though if she knows that it's rarely like that.

Thinking about it all, Alma doesn't notice the swarm of birds above her, in which she directly flies as she just wants to steer upwards to avoid a raincloud. Suddenly among all the wild geese, Alma snaps out of her thoughts with a start and gets frightened, slowly realizing what's happening around herself. But the other birds don't seem less scared, flying around wildly - feathers whirling around - and quacking loudly while surrounding her.

Of course they are frightened as they have a predator among them all of a sudden. And as Alma doesn't know how they are going to react in their fear she tries not to provoke them further and just keeps on flying until she gets the opportunity to flee out of their encirclement.

The birds seem to think similarly, not doing anything and keeping on flying straight on but directly into another cloud. Alma wants to avoid that, not wanting to get wet as well now but she has no chance of breaking free until they are inside the fog of the cloud and the geese get panicky and all fly in different directions.

Relieved, Miss Peregrine takes a deep breath, glad that this turned out alright. But now she's completely wet and angry at herself for letting it come to that by not being aware of her surroundings.

Annoyed she turns around to fly back home. It's not a good weather for a flight after all and it isn't really fun to fly around this wet anyway.

At home she changes back to run inside as quickly as possible. Wet, cold and naked is not the best combination.

After she has dried herself and put on new clothes, she starts preparing lunch. Soon the first children return from school and after doing their homework and other duties, they all spend a lovely afternoon together.

After dinner they all go to bed early, to be well rested for tomorrow, the last day of this school week.

As all the children are in their rooms, Miss Peregrine finishes cleaning everything and then waits on the couch for Catherine, who wanted to come by after her long work day to drink a glass of wine with her.

Miss Peregrine doesn't have to wait long and soon Catherine stands in front of the terrace door and knocks, not wanting to wake the children by using the door bell.

The two women spend a wonderful evening, talking and laughing a lot while finishing one bottle of wine together. They would have been able to talk longer but at 12 o'clock, as the bottle is empty they both decide that it's best if they call it a day and go to bed.

The next day is another normal school day for them all. It's still cold and rainy outside so Miss Peregrine doesn't go for another flight in the morning. After the children came back from school and they've eaten together, Miss Peregrine takes the boys to their football training. The last weeks it has always been Jake who's brought them, so Miss Peregrine is quite interested what her boys have learned during her absence.

As they return, the girls have already prepared something for dinner so they can start eating immediately, because Emma and Jake need to leave very soon.

Before they go, they have to promise one last time to stay away from all sorts of drugs and to take good care of each other. They take a key with them, so they don't have to wake Miss Peregrine when they will come home. And to Enoch's and Olive's delight, they will sleep in Jake's room together so Enoch will be staying in Olive's bed for the night.

After Emma and Jake have finally left, the rest of the them watch another movie together, also taking advantage of the fact that they don't have to get up early tomorrow, before they eventually go to bed.

Miss Peregrine stays up a little while longer first tidying up a bit and then reading in her bed. But slowly her eyes are closing on their own so she decides to switch off the light and go to sleep , even if Jake and Emma haven't returned and probably won't for some time.

They are just dancing on a little dance floor at the party and don't even think about going home soon as it's still really early.

Meanwhile Enoch and Olive are enjoying sleeping next to another. In the beginning they've talked a bit until Fiona wanted to sleep. Then they just kept snuggling up to each other, Olive lying in Enoch's arms, and let their hands caress each other. Once more Olive has taken off her gloves and enjoys it greatly. It's still so new, amazing and unbelievable to her that this is happening. But they don't stay awake much longer, both lulled to sleep by their touches.

The next morning, Miss Peregrine wakes up with a nasty cough and a running nose. Groaning in annoyance she turns around to look at the clock - it's already time to get up. _Oh, how she hates having a cold...It's surely because she had to fly in the rain 2 days ago._

As she sits up slowly, Alma tries to feel every part of her body to check for other symptoms. But luckily she feels completely fine apart from the cough and her nose. Therefore she quickly gets ready for the day and goes into the kitchen to start with the preparations for their big weekend breakfast.

But as she enters the kitchen, she's surprised to see Emma sitting at the table, a cup of tea in her hand.

"What are you doing here? Are you alright?" she asks concerned. Her voice is a bit husky but the more she talks the better it gets.

Surprised by her sudden presence, Emma turns around to look at her ymbryne.

"Oh, no, I'm alright," she says and starts beaming.

Miss Peregrine guesses that Emma must have had a wonderful evening and night.

"So why are you up then?" Miss Peregrine asks confused.

Emma shrugs and takes another sip of her tea.

"I just couldn't sleep anymore and I didn't want to wake Jake," she explains, the smile never leaving her face.

"I take it you had a good night then," Miss Peregrine says, smiling at her girl, who nods enthusiastically. Both women have to laugh.

"It was great!" Emma assures her ymbryne but that's all she's going to say to it and Miss Peregrine understands and doesn't even want to know more.

"Then you should get back to Jake, to spend a lovely morning in bed," Miss Peregrine suggests, winking at Emma.

Emma drinks the rest of her tea and stands up.

"Yes, thank you, I will," she answers smiling, while placing the cup into the dishwasher.

Miss Peregrine is just taking some ingredients out of the fridge, while trying to hide a sudden coughing fit. But Emma is too distracted to notice it anyway.

"I'll bring you the breakfast to your bed then, alright?" Miss Peregrine offers.

"Thank you, Miss P.," Emma answers happily before giving her ymbryne a kiss on the cheek and going back to Jake's room.

Miss Peregrine is left in the kitchen, still smiling as she's so happy for her teenagers, and begins to cook.

As it's already quite late, most of the children come out of their rooms very soon. They have all slept late and are now well rested and happy to have a long weekend. Originally they wanted to go on a trip with Ethan on this free day, but he had to cancel because he needed to visit his sister on short notice to look after her children while she has an important appointment.

Nonetheless they spend a funny day, playing board games in the living room and not doing any chores today. Emma and Jake have stayed in bed for half of the day but join the others after lunch.

In the afternoon, the little ones want to build a blanket fort in their room, so they gather all the blankets and cushions of the house. As they are finished they invite all the others to a little tea party inside.

Miss Peregrine gladly accepts their invitation but most of the older children are not so thrilled about the idea. Miss Peregrine has to convince some of them but it doesn't work with Enoch as well as Horace and Millard.

After a great dinner and another movie they all want to go to bed - exhausted from all the fun things they did today. The older children need to get their blankets back first while the younger ones don't want their blanket fort destroyed, as they planned on sleeping in it for the night. Miss Peregrine is forced to mediate between them but soon they agree on giving away a few blankets and replacing them by big towels, so it's still cosy enough for the night.

"Miss P. Can you please sleep here with us?" Claire begs their headmistress and also the twins and Bronwyn clap their hands enthusiastically.

"I'm sorry, children. But there's barely enough room for all of you. I won't fit in there as well."

Immediately the children's facial expressions change into disappointment.

"But I can stay here in the entrance and read you a story until you fall asleep if you like?" Miss Peregrine offers instead.

Still not completely satisfied the 4 of them nod before running off to get ready for bed.

After Miss Peregrine has finished four stories, the last one of them finally closes his eyes as well. Relieved, she closes the book, stands up and switches of the biggest light. On her way to her own room, she checks on the other children, who are all in their own beds but not all of them are asleep yet.

Millard is still reading, while Olive and Emma are sitting together on Emma's bed, whispering quite excitedly. They promise their ymbryne to go to bed soon and wish her a good night.

Only half an hour later, all children as well as Miss Peregrine are asleep. Just the young cat is still walking around, eating and drinking before going into the living room to get comfortable on one of the couches instead of the little bed, she's supposed to stay in.

On the next day, Miss Peregrine wants them all to catch up with their chores and other duties like homework or practicing their instruments but as soon as they've finished everything, they are allowed to play. Luckily the raining has stopped and the sun shines again. It's not very warm outside but nonetheless they spend the day in the garden, playing football, working in the vegetable garden or doing a picnic, while Miss Peregrine does some housework.

Before lunch, Ethan comes to visit them as he's just returned from his sister. To make up for his absence yesterday he promises to do the trip another time and plays with them a bit before joining Alma in the kitchen.

She is just preparing lunch. As she has put some meat in the oven she sits down with Ethan at the small table while cutting some vegetables, which he helps her with.

"How was it at your sister's?" she asks interested.

"Oh, yes, it was good," he answers. "She was away most of the time, something with her work but the children and I had lots of fun."

Alma smiles at him. "That's great to hear. I still remember them as very nice children and Morton was just really cute. I bet he has already grown again," Alma guesses, stifling another cough. Unfortunately the cough hasn't disappeared after the night and all in all she's feeling a little bit worse today.

"Oh yes, he has. But he's still cute," Ethan says and has to smile as he remembers his little nephew.

He then empties his cutting board into the pot, where Alma wants to cook the vegetables. Walking back to the table he sees Alma resting her head in her hands.

"Are you alright?" Ethan asks concerned and Alma just nods.

"Are you tired? Didn't you sleep alright last night?" Ethan guesses. But this time Alma shakes her head.

"No, I don't know," she begins. "Maybe I'm coming down with a flu or something."

Ethan nods thoughtfully and inspects Alma. "That's possible," he says then. "You've been coughing for some time as well, hm?" he asks and Alma nods.

"Ah, you'll be alright. You just rest for the day, drink enough and eat lots of vitamins," he encourages her and keeps on helping her with the cooking.

"This looks healthy enough, so far," Ethan adds, looking at all the vegetables they've chopped before.

Laughing, Alma nods. "I hope so," she says and gets up to cook the vegetables.

After lunch, Ethan plays with the children again. Miss Peregrine had planned to clean the house today but as Ethan said she should take it easy to avoid getting really sick, she's just doing a bit of the laundry and then sits down on the terrace, watching her children and Ethan.

Luckily, Emma and Olive have offered to take care of cooking dinner, so they can all stay outside until dinner is ready.

At the table they all enjoy the food and laugh a lot. Ethan and the boys are once more discussing the football matches of the weekend. Only Miss Peregrine is not participating in their conversations and just picks at her food. Ethan doesn't notice the change even if he's sitting opposite to her on the same corner of the table, too distracted by talking to the boys.

Only Olive watches her ymbryne.

"Don't you like the food?" she asks disappointed.

"What?" Miss Peregrine snaps out of her daze. "Oh, no. It's really tasty, Olive. Thank you for cooking!" she assures her girls, forcing a smile onto her lips.

This conversation makes Ethan attentive again and he takes in Alma's condition. Now she looks really tired and a bit pale - a lot worse than earlier. Concerned he reaches over the table to touch her forehead and frowns.

"Your temperature is slightly elevated," he informs her. Of course the children look up from their plates with concern. None of them had noticed that their ymbryne is sick and especially the younger ones are still worried when she's unwell.

But as Ethan notices it he quickly assures them that it's not a big deal.

"It's not that serious. The flu season is just starting, so it's not unusual," he says and then turns back towards Alma. "You just go to bed early and rest until you're better," he advises and nods at her to reassure her.

Miss Peregrine nods and as they are all finished, the teenagers begin to clear the table and clean the kitchen, so that Miss Peregrine can go to bed.

"But we wanted to see this movie, Bronwyn and I choose," Claire whines as Ethan wants Alma to go to her room.

"We can still watch it all together, Claire," Ethan wants to calm her down but it doesn't work.

"But Miss Peregrine promised to watch it with us," Claire insists. "Yes, we've wanted to show it to her for some weeks, now," Bronwyn adds, clearly disappointed. Of course they don't mean to be selfish, it's just that they have waited for it so long and can't understand that Miss Peregrine should rather go to bed.

Ethan just wants to say something back, but Miss Peregrine stops him.

"It's alright," she cuts in. "I can lie down on the couch with you all for the movie. It's not much different from lying in my bed, is it Doctor? " Alms suggests and looks at Ethan, laughing.

Ethan doesn't have any objections as long as she lies down. So after all the children got ready for bed they gather on the couches or the ground in front of the TV.


	32. Chapter 15 Part II

**Chapter 15**

 **Part II**

Miss Peregrine is lying on one couch, her head resting on Ethan's lap, while Emma is sitting with the little ones on the other couch. The boys are sitting on the ground leaning against the couches and Fiona and Olive have occupied the two armchairs.

At first, Claire wanted to sit with Miss Peregrine to comfort her ymbryne. She held her hand and petted her cheek, like she has seen her ymbryne do many times when one of them was sick. But soon, Miss Peregrine sends her to sit with the other children as she doesn't want Claire to get sick, too.

First, Alma watches the movie with her children, while Ethan caresses her head with his hand but soon her eye lids feel very heavy and she dozes off for some times until the movie gets louder or the children would talk about something that's just happened.

She can't really fall asleep as she's constantly coughing but can't stay completely awake either. The more time passes, the worse her cough gets. She doesn't want to disturb her children, so she tries to muffle it with a part of the blanket, she's covered with. But she can't hide it from Ethan who watches her closely as she's getting worse. As half of the movie is over, she's barely aware of her surroundings anymore. She has been constantly getting weaker and more dazed and also her breathing has gotten worse. By now she barely registers Ethan's touch, who's brushing a damp strand of hair out of her face.

Quietly he calls Emma on the next couch, who turns her head to look at him.

"Could you please get me the thermometer out of the bathroom," he whispers to her. "She feels a lot warmer than earlier."

Emma nods while taking a look at her ymbryne, concern visible in her face, before carefully standing up between Bronwyn and Claire, who are by now sprawled out on both sides of Emma. As she returns, she hands Ethan the thermometer and sits down next to him on the edge of the couch to see what it will show. The other children don't really notice what's going on as the movie has just gotten really thrilling.

A few seconds later Ethan takes a look at the thermometer and frowns.

"And?" Emma asks worried, so Ethan gives her the thermometer to take a look for herself. The display shows: 40.5 degrees.

"Oh," Emma just says. "No wonder that she's not really with us at the moment."

Ethan shakes his head. "But isn't it a bit high for just a flu?" Emma points out.

"Not necessarily, Emma," Ethan explains. "But you might be right. I don't think that it's just a flu either." As Emma frowns, Ethan continues. "My guess is that she's developing pneumonia as her breathing doesn't sound good at all."

"Oh," Emma says thoughtfully. "That would also explain the worsening in her cough, right?" Ethan nods. "That's right."

"So what are you going to do about It? It can get quite serious, right?"

"You're well informed, Emma," Ethan remarks. "But for now I wouldn't be so pessimistic. She's relatively young, normally in good health and we've caught it early enough, so I'm pretty sure that it will be alright. Nonetheless, I will stay with her for the night to monitor her breathing and temperature. Tomorrow I can examine her properly and when it's not better I will give her some antibiotics, that should work" Ethan explains to Emma, who nods understandingly.

After the movie is over, all the children go to bed. The little ones have already been nearly asleep, so the teenagers carry them to their rooms. Now as they are standing up also the other teenagers notice Miss Peregrine's condition and look at Emma quizzically. As all the younger ones are in their rooms, Emma explains what Ethan has told her, while Ethan carries Miss Peregrine into her room.

During the night, Alma wakes up a couple of times, as her cough gets even worse and she sometimes even has troubles breathing. But all in all her condition doesn't get much worse.

As she wakes up in the morning, she looks around in her room, confused about Ethan lying next to her. Thinking about yesterday she doesn't remember what happened after they started watching the movie. Then she notices the new pain in her chest and realizes that she feels a lot worse than last evening and that it's suddenly harder to breath.

As Ethan fees that she is waking up he turns around to face her.

"Hey, you're awake," he says in a soft voice. Alma nods, groaning.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Ethan asks, noticing that Alma is much clearer than last night.

"Terrible," Alma groans. She doesn't understand why she's feeling worse all of a sudden and why she can't remember last night.

Ethan takes the thermometer of the nightstand and checks her temperature once more. It's a bit lower than last evening, which explains her alertness. But nonetheless her cough is really bad and she's short of breath.

"It hurts to breath," Alma complains.

"I thought as much," Ethan sighs and sits up properly in the bed.

"You got pretty sick last night, Alma. Your fever is slightly better but still high, and you're breathing is lousy, to put it mildly," Ethan explains. Alma has to cough again, which forces her to sit up. Then she struggles to get her breath back.

Ethan strokes her back gently. "I'm pretty sure that you've got pneumonia,," he continues and she looks back at him in shock. She has still thought that it's just a bad flu but this is something completely different.

"Don't worry," Ethan says. "I'm driving to the office now to get some antibiotics. Then you will feel better quite soon. And when I come back I'll examine you properly."

Alma nods and lies back into her cushions breathlessly, still struggling to get enough air into her lungs.

"Are you going to be alright alone until I'm back?" Ethan asks her.

"I hope so," Alma sighs and concentrates back on her breathing.

"Ok, I'll be quick, I'll promise," Ethan says. "I'll tell Emma to have an eye on you. And if your breathing gets worse, don't panic. Just try to calm down again and take one breath after another. It normally helps to sit up or get some fresh air."

"Ok, "Alma says and closes her eyes again.

In the living room, Ethan meets Emma who's already setting the table for breakfast.

Immediately, she asks how her ymbryne is. Ethan tells her everything and asks her to check on Alma while he's away, before he quickly leaves.

As he returns half an hour later, the children are already sitting at the dining table. Emma tells him that Miss Peregrine slept again as she took a look into her room. Then she tells Ethan to sit with them and eat something before going back to her. But Ethan declines and rather goes back to Alma immediately.

The children start discussing it as soon as he turns to walk towards Alma's room. Of course they are all worried that their ymbryne is now feeling worse but Ethan decides to leave it to Emma to explain everything and calm them down.

As he closes the door behind himself, Alma stirs in her sleep and starts coughing again. "You're back already," she croaks and Ethan approaches the bed with his doctor's bag in his left hand.

" I heard you slept while I was gone," he says. "So your breathlessness was bearable?"

Alma only nods, so Ethan doesn't ask anymore.

He unpacks his bag on the nightstand before asking Alma to sit up in her bed. Troublesomely Alma pushes herself into a sitting position. As Ethan raises Alma's night top he already notices that she's completely soaked with sweat.

Thoroughly Ethan examines her. He starts with the auscultation and percussion of her lungs. He's surprised that it sounds a lot better than he has expected it, but as he sees how bad Alma feels, he guesses that it's probably a viral infection whereas the acute beginning of her sickness as well as the high fever would indicate a bacterial origin.

However, he decides not to take any risks and still give her the antibiotics to at least prevent other bacterial infections if this one should be viral.

Then he palpates her stomach as Alma has also complained about gastrointestinal symptoms. But so far everything seems alright, so he puts them down as side effects of her respiratory infection.

"How would you describe your cough?," he then asks. "Is it rather dry?" Ethan guesses from the sound of Alma's cough.

Miss Peregrine nods carefully, not really sure about her answer.

"Ok," Ethan answers. "I would suggest, that I'm giving you some antibiotics now, just in case. When it's bacterial you're probably going to feel better pretty soon. But nonetheless, I'd like to take some blood samples and do at least a throat swab and send it to the laboratory to know what bacterium we're dealing with or if it might be viral after all," Ethan explains his next steps.

Alma has no idea what he's talking about but she doesn't care as long as it's helping.

Ethan gets all the tools out of his bag and takes the samples, which he then places in his bag as well before giving Alma the tablet, which she swallows and then lies back down.

"I'm sorry, Alma," Ethan stops her. "But we have to change your clothes first, they are completely wet." Groaning in annoyance, Alma picks herself up again, so Ethan can undress her before getting a new nightgown.

Sighing Alma lets herself fall back as he's done and closes her eyes immediately.

"I'm going to bring the samples to the laboratory, that I always send my things to and then I'll be back, alright?"

Already half asleep, Alma nods.

In the living room, Ethan is surprised to see no one. All the children have left and on the table he finds his breakfast and a note from Emma saying that they are in the garden.

He quickly grabs something to eat for the way and then goes to his car. On the way he informs Emma that he will be gone again and that Miss Peregrine is sleeping once more.

And that's something that doesn't change much during the rest of the morning. Ethan would check Miss Peregrine's temperature regularly and unfortunately it has gotten quite high again. She feels really weak and doesn't want to do anything but sleep. Ethan has to wake her a couple of times for an inhalation treatment and to at least make her drink something because she's sweating so much.

Very soon though Ethan decides not to torture her anymore and gives her the needed fluids intravenously. Every other patient, he would have admitted to a hospital by now, but as he's a doctor himself and can do the same things as they would do there, he decides to care for her here. That's as long as her breathing is stable enough, though. He just needs the results from the laboratory as the antibiotics he has given her don't seem to work as much as hoped.

As the fever gets even higher, he gives her antipyretics and calls a befriended doctor who works in the laboratory to get some news. But he tells him that they don't have the final results yet. The bacteria detection and especially the resistance testing won't be completely ready until tomorrow and the virus tests are still running. He promises Ethan though that he will call him as soon as he gets the first results.

The rest of the day Alma sleeps a lot, too. But in the afternoon, she spends a short while on the couch in the living room with the children. Of course she won't let them get near her and risk getting infected too. But she enjoys having them around her and watching them play. Claire has gotten her favourite stuffed animal from her room and gave it to Miss Peregrine, hoping that it will make her feel better and Horace even played the piano for her as he knows how much she likes it. Nonetheless, Miss Peregrine feels still very weak and falls asleep on the couch again. That's when Ethan sends the children into their rooms so they don't wake her up again.

Meanwhile Ethan starts preparing something for dinner, which he serves after carrying Alma back into her own bed. Then he calls the children and they start eating together. During the meal, Ethan takes a close look at every child to see if one of them is getting sick too. But so far they all seem pretty healthy.

After dinner, Ethan starts a movie for the children, while Enoch and Jake clean up in the kitchen. Then, while the children are sitting on the couches, Ethan goes to check on Alma again. She's still asleep but slowly wakes up as he sits down on the edge of the bed to check her temperature. It's still way too high and her coughing and breathing sound terrible. Therefore Ethan prepares the next inhalation. Maybe it will ease her symptoms for the night so she can get some rest.

But while he's getting all the necessary tools, his mobile phone rings. Quickly he answers the call.

"What?" is all that Alma can hear. "But how? Are you sure?"

Seeing the shock in Ethan's eyes, Alma gets quite confused and even a bit scared. She couldn't hear the name of the caller so she hasn't got an idea what this is about. But somehow she has the impression that it has something to do with her, maybe it's the laboratory - the call Ethan has waited for the whole day.

"Alright, I will take care of that," Ethan says reluctantly to the person on the other side of the line. "Will you send all the results to Matthew and tell him we'll come? And call me as soon as you have any other news," Ethan says and ends the call. Nervously, he puts the phone back into his pocket and turns around towards Alma.

"What is it?" she asks carefully.

Ethan runs his fingers through his hair and sits down next to Alma on the bed, struggling to find the right words.

"This was my friend from the laboratory," he begins. Nervously, Alma bites her bottom lip and waits for Ethan to continue.

"They found genetic material of an avian flu virus species in your blood as well as the throat swab," Ethan breaks the news.

"What?" Alma asks shocked. "You mean I've got the bird flu?" She can't believe what Ethan has just said. Until now she has thought that it's just a really bad flu or maybe pneumonia like Ethan has said. But this is something completely different. It's life threatening - Miss Peregrine has read it in the papers as there have been some cases lately and even some deaths. _This can't be really happening, it's surely just one of her bad dreams._

But it isn't and Alma is ripped out of her thoughts by Ethan talking to her.

"Unfortunately yes," he answers her question. "But don't panic, Alma," he begs her and cups her cheek.

"But how?" she asks desperately.

"Did you have any contact with birds lately?" Ethan asks. Quickly though he notices how ironic his question was as Alma herself is a bird from time to time.

"More than normally. You know what I mean," he corrects.

Miss Peregrine shrugs. "No, I'm not sure, I just went for a flight in the mornings like always."

"And was something different?" Ethan inquires further.

"No," Alma sighs. She gets quite agitated, fumbles with the blanket in her hand. Immediately, her body reacts to the stress and she has another coughing fit while Ethan strokes her arm. After calming down again it hits her though.

"No, wait," she says. "There was something. A few days ago I had a collision with a swarm of wild geese. Could that be the reason?"

"Yes, that's very likely," Ethan says.

"And now?" Alma wants to know. She's completely upset and nearly crying by now.

Ethan shifts closer and takes her in his arms. "Shush, Alma, it's going to be alright. Your condition isn't serious at the moment and we've diagnosed it very early. Nonetheless it's best if you go into a hospital immediately."

Shocked, Miss Peregrine frees herself from Ethan's embrace. "What? No!" Not again," she cries and Ethan pulls her back into his arms, stroking her head. For just a second he thought about being so close to her and the risk of getting infected too. But Miss Peregrine needs him and he has been close to her the whole time so it doesn't matter any more.

"It's just a precaution. We need to monitor your organs, especially your lungs. Lung failure is the highest risk. But you're not so sick now, it's just that we don't want it to get to that point," Ethan explains calmly.

"I won't lie to you, Alma. There have been deaths among the last cases this autumn in the United States. But that have been older patients or patients with other diseases. With you everything will be fine, I'm sure. Especially because in a hospital they can react more quickly if something changes."

Defeated, Alma nods but then looks up in shock again.

"And what about the children?"

"They will be fine, I will stay here again and be there for them," Ethan assures her. Alma nods thoughtfully.

"Is it possible that they are sick too?" she asks concerned. "They had contact with me, before I got really sick, what if they got infected as well? Oh my god and you? You've been with me the whole time...," Alma points out shifting away from Ethan in panic, struggling to breath properly.

"Shhh," Ethan tries to calm her down. "Take one calm breath after another. Everything will be alright, I've already taken a look at the children and none of them seem sick so far and I feel good too. But to be sure I will take blood samples from everyone, me included, and let them be tested in the laboratory tomorrow, alright?"

Again Alma nods and falls back into her bed. She's exhausted beyond belief and this shock has made it even worse. Ethan lets her get some rest and stands up to pack some things for the hospital.

"What are you doing?" Alma asks as her breathing has calmed down again and she notices Ethan running around the room, grabbing some clothes.

"I'm packing your things, so we can leave soon," he explains while getting some of Alma's things from the sink.

"What? This evening?" she asks astonished. Ethan places the bag on the little couch and sits down next to Alma.

"It's best when we leave as soon as possible," he explains and caresses Alma's cheek with his thumb.

Miss Peregrine closes her eyes and nods.

"Alright, then I'll bring your things into the car and get you afterwards."

Alma nods again while Ethan stands up and leaves the room with her bag.

On his way back he knocks at the girls room to talk to Emma and Olive. The movie seems to be finished and all the children are in their beds.

As quickly as possible, Ethan explains to the girls what happened and that he will leave with Miss Peregrine now.

Of course all three girls in the room are very concerned and upset. Them as well have heard about the bird flu in school or on TV, so they now how serious this is. Ethan calms them down as best as he can by telling them the same he has told Miss Peregrine. Olive leaves to tell Enoch and Jake and Emma stays with Fiona who is really scared but they decide not to tell the younger ones before tomorrow.

Then Ethan gets a pair of shoes and a jacket for Miss Peregrine and then carries her into the car.


	33. Chapter 15 Part III

**Chapter 15**

 **Part III**

During the drive, Ethan tries to distract Alma but of course that's not easy. Her breathing has gotten worse again because of the fear and nothing that Ethan says makes her feel better. Just the thought of being in the hospital again and this time even with a life-threatening disease makes her feel sick. She can't help but think what will happen when she gets so sick that she may die. What will happen to her children?

Ethan tries to remind her of his birthday.

"Do you remember Matthew? He was the one who played the guitar at the campfire." Alma tries to push away her pessimistic thoughts and nods.

"He's also a doctor and works in the hospital. He will be responsible for you as you'll be staying on his ward," Ethan explains.

"Ok," Alma sighs, a little bit relieved that there will be someone she already knows. And she even remembers Matthew as very friendly and funny.

As they arrive at the hospital, Ethan takes Alma's bag and supports her while they slowly walk up to the main entrance of the emergency department. Reaching the entrance, they are already greeted by Matthew as well as two nurses and as it seems an intern. They are all dressed in protective clothing, wear gloves and face masks. The nurses push a hospital bed and all four of them are surprised to see Alma walking nearly by herself. All other patients, diagnosed with bird flu have been brought in by an emergency transport and were barely conscious.

Matthew approaches the couple to greet his friend and Alma, who's short of breath again after walking up the small hill. In fact Ethan has parked the car on an emergency parking nearby and not on the normal one, that's further away. But he couldn't drive up all the way to the entrance as there has to be room for an ambulance car, should there be an emergency.

After shaking his friend's hand and squeezing Alma's arm as a greeting Matthew inspects her closely. He still can't believe that she's up on her feet with such a serious disease. But he can clearly see that she's unwell. Even from the distance he can hear her abnormal breathing sounds, see how pale she is and even the sweat glistening on her skin.

He motions for her to lie down on the bed and Ethan wants to help her but Alma would rather walk on her own, afraid of losing control of her own body and because lying there will make her feel really sick while walking still gives her the feeling of being halfway alright.

But Ethan can convince her that she should do as told.

"At the moment it's really important that you save as much energy as possible to give your body a chance of fighting the infection."

Crestfallen Alma nods and obliges. And it's true, as soon as she has lied down, she feels her breathing getting more regularly again.

The nurses keep pushing the bed with Alma in it back into the building through the emergency department and straight to the isolation ward. Ethan walks next to the bed and holds Alma's hand. But as soon as they enter the quarantined area, he's taken aside by a new nurse who gives him the same clothing as the others are wearing.

For Alma it's showing her the seriousness of her situation once more and intimidates her. She's brought into a new room, everything looks sterile, cold and unfamiliar. Furthermore all the people who look down at her are masked so she can't see who they are and their appearance scares her even more. Somewhere among them is Ethan, obviously talking to Matthew. Alma wants him to be next to her but everything is chaotic, nurses running around, doctors enter the room or leave again. They are all talking at the same time, while preparing the room as well as Alma. One nurse changes her clothes while another one applies all technical devices they use. A young doctor has taken Alma's left arm and inserts a cannula into her vein and takes another few blood samples.

None of them care about Alma or notice that she's in fact aware of everything, so used to unconscious or dazed patients on their ward.

Luckily Ethan soon finishes talking to Matthew and sits down next to Alma and takes her right hand. With his other hand, he strokes her head while talking to her.

"Hey are you alright? Don't be scared," he says to her. Alma nods shyly and looks around the room, still intimidated.

"They are all doing their job like they always do. They are not used to have patients as well as you are," he explains.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Alright, I guess. I don't know anymore," Alma sobs. This is all too much for her.

"Hey, don't cry. Nothing has changed since earlier in your room," Ethan tries to calm her down, while one nurse takes Alma's ear temperature.

"They are just preparing everything to monitor you properly and then it will get more quiet around here," Ethan promises.

After another nurse has taken Alma for an x-ray of her lungs, Ethan and her are left alone in the room. Alma has closed her eyes again and relaxes for the first time since they arrived here. Ethan has given her the oxygen mask from her nightstand which helps a lot with her breathing. He has explained to her that she can use it whenever she feels the need to.

He still holds her hand and lets his thumb caress her skin. It's still soothing but doesn't feel as good as usually because of the gloves Ethan has to wear.

But soon Matthew enters the room again. He has taken a look at all the results of the tests they have done so far.

"Hey you two," he says while approaching the bed and sitting down on a chair on the opposite side of Ethan.

"How are you feeling, Alma?" he asks her for the first time but Miss Peregrine just shrugs. They are always asking the same question and she doesn't know anymore. All this makes her think that she's seriously sick whereas her body doesn't feel different from when she still thought it was just a normal flu.

"I'm still the same as before," she sighs after taking the mask of her mouth.

"She has been feeling weak for a few days, since the temperature got so high and as her cough and breathing got worse her chest started hurting. But apart from that she's been alright," Ethan explains to Matthew.

"Alright, that matches with what I've seen so far. Everything seems alright. Of course you can see the infection in her blood results and the x-ray but it's really not too bad. In fact it's way too good for an diagnosis like this. But I've talked to Thomas again, he repeated all the tests and got the same results," Matthew reports.

"But when I'm feeling better, why can't I stay at home?" Alma whines.

"You know the answer already," Ethan says calmly and caresses her forehead.

Matthew nods understandingly before leaving them alone again.

Alma feels very tired and fights to keep her eyes open. She doesn't want to fall asleep, knowing that Ethan will leave her as soon as she does. But soon she loses the fight and drifts into a restless sleep.

Ethan stays for a little while longer but then stands up and leaves the room. In the corridor he meets Matthew again. He seems to have been looking for him too. Ethan uses the opportunity to ask about the next steps, that Matthew plans.

"I think it's best to treat her with an virostatic agent and otherwise just treat her symptoms, give her something for the cough, the fever and if she wants to, pain killers," Matthew answers. Ethan nods his agreement as he would have suggested the same but Matthew doesn't seem to be interested in that subject and wants to talk about something more important.

"I've just got a call from Thomas," he begins and immediately has Ethan's full attention.

"They have done more tests with the result that this virus is an completely new and unknown subtype, one that has only infested birds so far," Matthew says, obviously worried.

"What?" Ethan asks back. He feels shocked but for him it's probably not so inexplicable as for Matthew.

"I can't explain it myself," Matthew continues. " And if this is really true - and Thomas is completely sure - it's a catastrophe. We don't know how dangerous this virus is and have no experience in treating it. How can that be and how has Alma gotten infected with such a new virus?"

Ethan may know the answer to that last question, but nonetheless this comes as a shock to him too. He needs to sit down on a chair in the corridor and places his head in his hands. This is even getting worse and he doesn't know what to do to help Alma. Besides he now feels guilty that he hasn't brought her into a hospital the day before. He had already known that she hasn't got just a flu last night but he was convinced that he could treat her on his own. And now this may have been wasted time that they may need now. He has never thought of such a possibility even if he had known that there are bird flu cases at the moment. And when this new virus comes with new complications as well, all he has said to Alma and the children, that they have diagnosed it early enough and that she's still feeling alright is a good sign, may be invalid now.

Matthew seems to notice his friends fear and sits down next to him, starting to comfort him.

"Hey, it's not too late now and this new diagnosis doesn't have to mean anything. Alma is in a good condition now and who knows? Maybe this virus isn't as dangerous as the other variants before. All we know so far indicates exactly that," Matthew explains.

Ethan looks up at him, hope visible in his eyes.

"Maybe you're right, Matthew. Oh god, I hope you're right. I just can't lose her," Ethan says and nearly starts crying in front of his friend. This fear has been in his head for the last hours and now as he has said it out loud it has become even more real.

"Oh, Ethan," Matthew says while stroking his friend's back.

"You're a medical man, so think like one. I understand your fear but nothing we can see at the moment suggests such complications. Alma is conscious and stable so far. She has really good chances of fighting this. And that only because you acted as you did. No one would have thought of bird flu. But you let her blood be tested as soon as you assumed a lung infection and that made it possible to react so quickly, which gives us all the time we need," Matthew encourages his friend.

Ethan slowly starts seeing it that way too.

"Maybe you're right," he answers thoughtfully.

"I'm always right, don't you know that until now?" Matthew jokes, which makes even Ethan's lips curl up into a tiny smile.

"I know," he corrects himself. "But what are we going to do now?" he asks desperately.

Matthew shrugs, even if he knows that it's not helping Ethan at the moment. His friend needs someone strong at his side, someone optimistic who knows what to do. But he doesn't and he won't lie to one of his best friends.

"I don't know either. But as I said, we'll treat her as best as we can, like we do with all the other bird flu patients as well. And we'll be prepared for possible complications while hoping that it won't come to that."

Ethan nods understandingly before both men stand up. Matthew takes some blood samples from Ethan to test him as well before Ethan takes a last look at Alma and returns to the house of Jake's parents.

Exhausted he falls asleep before all his doubts and worries can return.

The next morning, Ethan has to talk to the children and take their blood samples before they can go to school. Of course they are all too worried and would rather stay at home. Especially the younger ones have cried for most of the time. They are too afraid for their ymbryne and have only just recovered from her last stay in a hospital.

But Ethan knows that Alma wouldn't have wanted that and he himself thinks that school will at least distract them a little bit.

The younger children don't really know what their ymbryne has as Ethan didn't want to scare them further. But the older ones who know and have heard about the bird flu before are very worried. Especially the girls can't help but feel pessimistic from time to time and fear that they won't see Miss Peregrine again. So despite their own worries, the boys are there for them for comfort and solace. It's also very hard for them all that they aren't allowed to visit Miss Peregrine. So they are all happy as Millard has the idea of making a video of them all on Ethan's phone so the next time he visits their ymbryne he can show it to her. And it really lifts Miss Peregrine's spirits too and Ethan gets to see her beautiful smile again which has gotten rare.

Again he does the best he can to support them all and be there for whatever the children might need him for while also visiting Alma as much as he can. After Ethan has told Emma to call Miss Avocet to inform her about Alma and let the other ymbrynes know how dangerous it can be for them to be in close contact to other birds, he contacted Catherine to let her know about everything, so she can let herself be tested too and visit Alma.

Luckily hers and Ethan's as well as the tests of the children come back clear. None of them got infected like Miss Peregrine. Something, especially Miss Peregrine is really relieved about. But that feeling is short-lived as she's really scared as she still feels terrible.

Her fever is still very high, which makes her feel weak. Furthermore, her cough has gotten worse and she has now more troubles breathing, only taking off the oxygen mask when talking.

For her it seems like a deterioration linked with the constant fear of not being able to fight the infection.

Strangely enough the doctors are really pleased with everything and pleasantly surprised though. They enter Miss Peregrine's room regularly, checking on her, always with lots of colleagues as Alma has gotten their mystery case and everyone seems to want to know how she's doing. But still, none of the doctors have an idea why this new virus is suddenly spreading to humans as well.

The day after Matthew has told Ethan about it, Ethan has talked to Miss Peregrine. Of course both of them know how she got infected and Ethan even assumes that she just got sick because she's half bird and that it's also the reason why none other of them got infected. Secretly he feels a bit relieved that they may not be dealing with a new epidemic as he's quite sure that normal humans still can't get infected by it but unfortunately he can't tell Matthew and his other colleagues which are really concerned about it all as well as Catherine. And it also doesn't change the fact that they don't know how Alma's body will handle this infection - she still can develop serious complications.

Also Catherine is really concerned and visits Alma at least every second day. Ethan, too, tries to be with Alma as often as possible even if she's just lying there, watching him, feeling too weak to start a conversation or even sleeping. He knows that just his presence calms her down a bit as well, as he knows how worried she is.

The last time the doctors came to take a look at her, they too sensed her fear and told her once more how pleased they are. All other bird flu patients that stayed on this ward had to be intubated shortly after their admission as their lungs were much worse than Alma's. And some had to been put into an artificial coma and very few didn't make it even then. So just the fact that she's conscious and able to talk and everything is such a big thing that she should be happy about it. Furthermore all her blood values are quite alright and don't give any reason for concern just now.

Therefore the doctors don't change anything and proceed as before and are quite optimistic despite the momentary stagnation, that Alma will be getting better in time.

And they are right. After some more days Miss Peregrine's temperature goes down eventually. Also her breathing improves, all signs that are confirmed by the lower viral load.

The whole staff is still confused about this new virus but finally they too are relieved that it seems to be less virulent than the other virus subtypes. And since there haven't been any other cases with this one, they are now quite sure that there won't be a new epidemic.

So after another few days on the isolation ward, they allow Miss Peregrine to go home again. She's still not completely fit, her temperature is still slightly elevated and of course she's often short of breath and still coughing a lot. But it's no wonder that her lungs have to recover after such an infection. Besides, Matthew knows that Alma can't take staying here any longer and trusts Ethan to take good care of her.

In their final talk, the doctors emphasize once more that this virus is still inexplicable to them. They have consulted different colleagues from all over the world and no one has ever had a case like this at least not with human patients. But they are all really relieved that it turned out the way it did. They remind Alma that she still has to rest a lot for some time and should return as soon as she feels worse again. Additionally they ask Alma for the permission to use all her test results and samples for further studies as well as examining her again regularly as she's the first and so far only case to learn from.

After a short talk with Ethan she agrees even though they have to be very careful what the doctors will detect during their studies. But Ethan could convince her that they will only focus on the virus itself and don't research on her.

At home everyone is so relieved and happy again that their ymbryne is back. For the younger ones it's pretty much the same as after her surgery but for the older ones it took an incredible load of their mind. And even the worry that their ymbryne might die vanishes as soon as they see her stepping out of the car on the driveway. Ethan takes good care that she doesn't overdo it immediately but nonetheless they all spend the afternoon together in the living room - Miss Peregrine lying on the couch and her children sitting around her.

During the next days Miss Peregrine recovers bit by bit. Ethan has confined her to bed and still lets her inhale twice a day. She also has to take some meds and once a day Ethan wants her to spend time in fresh air. First he lets her sit on a chair on the terrace covered with a thick blanket and soon he goes for little walks with her - for a change of scenery as well as exercise for her breathing. -nonetheless, Miss Peregrine stays short of breath for some weeks and it also takes a long time until her cough is gone completely.

Twice she has to go to the hospital for check-ups and research examinations. They take blood samples, do control x-rays and lung function tests and keep a record of everything. Every time Miss Peregrine feels quite nervous and fears to expose too much but luckily no one notices anything peculiar about her, which makes her once more relieved that her human body doesn't show any signs of her bird side.

After the last appointment Matthew and his colleagues thank Alma again for her cooperation. They have gathered enough information for a complete study that will be published and will hopefully be of help for every other doctor with such a case although Alma and Ethan are sure that luckily it will never come to that point.

After they leave the hospital Ethan invites Alma into a restaurant. For the first time since her infection she feels well enough to stay away from home for longer. She's still weaker than usual but gets back to normal step by step. While they are eating Ethan tells Alma how happy he is that she's so much better.

"You don't leave anything out, do you?" he jokes and Alma nearly chokes on her drink as she has to laugh about this remark.

"I guess not but at least it gets never boring," she answers still laughing.

" I'm happy to have you nonetheless, no matter how difficult it gets," Ethan assures her while taking her hand and planting a kiss on it.

"I'm glad to hear that and I feel the same," Alma answers happily before she finishes the last bit of her food. "I love you and I can't tell you what it means to me, that you are still with us and doing so much for me and the children. I've never thought that I would ever depend on another person so much. But I wouldn't know what to do without you anymore," Alma confesses, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Oh, Alma, you can be so sweet. But I feel the same way. And if you can put up with me, I would love to spend the rest of my life with you and the children . We've been through so much already and I believe that it can't get any worse. So if we've managed all this I'm sure that nothing can part us," Ethan concludes, which gives Alma the rest.

Not caring what the other guests of the restaurant might think she starts crying out of joy and walks around the table to kiss Ethan who takes her in his arms on his lap. They have to break apart way too soon for both their likings as Alma still hasn't got so much air as before but it doesn't lessen the emotions.

After paying both of them leave the restaurant, probably as happy as never before. They are both looking forward to their seemingly promising future together, both grateful for their relationship full of trust, passion and love after barely one year that they know each other. The last months have been busy and difficult but at the same time so wonderful and joyful. And with the prospect of spending their whole lives together like that both can't think of anything better. And even Alma who has never thought about a life like this doesn't care about growing older and even dying one day when she has had a fulfilled life with Ethan and her children until then.


	34. Chapter 16 Part I

**Chapter 16**

 **Part I**

Very quickly Miss Peregrine has recovered completely from her illness and all their lives go on like before. By now it's already November and the children are once more busy in school and with their hobbies. Furthermore, Enoch has to go to his driving lessons regularly.

Miss Peregrine spends a lot of time with Ethan. He has even managed to convince her to stay at his house for a night. In the beginning, Alma has been quite nervous and had to call her children twice but soon Ethan found a way to distract her completely for the rest of the night. And she had to admit that it wasn't as bad as she had thought and all her children were still alright in the next morning.

One Saturday afternoon the children are all at home. They have completed all their chores and even played their instruments. Now after they had a lovely lunch with their ymbryne, they are sitting in their rooms or the living room, talking or playing something, while Miss Peregrine is in the living room, folding some clothes, she has just ironed.

She's just relaxing to the sound of the radio as Millard and Hugh storm into the room loudly, followed by the twins.

"Can we go outside to play soccer on the big sports field a few streets away? Some other boys of our football training will be there, too," Millard asks and all the children look at their ymbryne expectantly.

She takes a deep breath before looking at them and answers.

"No, I'm sorry boys. I don't want you to go there alone and Jake and Enoch don't have time," she explains her decision.

"But why, Miss P.?" Hugh asks shocked. No one of them would have expected such a response. Of course they know that Miss Peregrine can be quite protective sometimes but she has been really relaxed lately and even today she has been in a good mood.

"I've just told you why," Miss Peregrine answers annoyed. She folds the rest of the laundry and stands up. "And besides, there are still a lot of things you could help with here in the house," she adds harshly before going towards the children's rooms to distribute the clothes.

The four boys are left behind, looking at each other in disbelief and speechless. But no one of them dares to contradict their ymbryne, especially not in the mood she's in now.

Disappointed they go back into their room, sulking.

None of the other children have noticed this little argument, so they spend the rest of the afternoon happily in their rooms.

Only Miss Peregrine feels guilty very soon. She can't explain what triggered her reaction and doesn't understand how it could end like this so quickly. With her head held low, she knocks at the boy's room and apologizes, telling them that they can go there very soon. The boys who have calmed down enough while playing cards or reading, accept her apology, happy that she's not angry anymore.

Relieved, Miss Peregrine lets them play their games and goes into the kitchen to prepare the dinner. After a joyful meal with Ethan, who has come after finishing in his office, they decide on another movie. The little ones have suggested one but as the older children didn't want to see it, Miss Peregrine decided on a compromise. Ethan laughs about these little fights in a family, knowing it from the time with his siblings.

But the mood changes again quickly, as Miss Peregrine passes the kitchen. She sees that Claire hasn't filled up the food and water bowls of the cat as she was supposed to do. Angrily she gets back into the living room and reprimands her girl.

"I've told you multiple times today to do it, Claire," she says sternly. Claire looks at the ground and doesn't say a word. She always fears this reaction of Miss Peregrine and tries to endure the situation until it's over.

"I didn't want the cat living with us and I told you that you have to take care of her. This is really irresponsible, the cat needs to eat and drink and if you can't see to that, maybe the cat has to live elsewhere after all!"

"But Miss P.!" Claire wants to argue but Miss Peregrine just holds up her index finger and the little girl falls quiet immediately. All the children have learned obedience as one of the first things while living with their ymbryne. Ethan has always admired Alma for the respect she receives from her children even though they love her dearly at the same time.

"Go and do it now! Otherwise we don't start watching the movie," Miss Peregrine states and Claire runs into the kitchen as quickly as possible. "The same goes for you Bronwyn," Miss Peregrine continues and turns towards her other girl. "I've told you to clean up the cage of your guinea pigs. Do you want me to go into your room now and see if you've done it?" Miss Peregrine asks angrily while Bronwyn stammers something incomprehensible.

Miss Peregrine is close to shouting at her children for not doing their duties reliably lately but Ethan quickly takes her hand to pull her back down onto the couch.

"I think Bronwyn already feels guilty enough and I'm sure that she will do the cage first thing tomorrow. It's too late today, so let's just enjoy the movie and calm down again, alright?" he says insistently so Miss Peregrine sits down reluctantly while Ethan embraces her into his arms.

Bronwyn is just happy that she could avoid a big conflict and didn't have to do the cage now.

Soon Claire joins them again, getting another glare from Miss Peregrine which soon turns into a nod as Ethan strokes her arm.

"Come here!" Miss Peregrine calls Claire and motions for her to sit on her lap. Happily, Claire jumps onto her ymbryne's lap and hugs her.

"I'm sorry, Miss P.," she apologizes again. "It's alright, Claire and I'm sorry too. I didn't want to overreact. I guess it just was a long day and I'm really tired," Miss Peregrine explains and looks towards Bronwyn, smiling at her as well.

Having resolved the second argument for today, Miss Peregrine lies back into Ethan and they all start the movie.

The other children are happy that they didn't get into trouble with their ymbryne while at the same time pitying their younger siblings. But soon all the children have forgotten about it and concentrate on the movie.

Shortly after the beginning though, Miss Peregrine falls fast asleep in Ethan's arms. He's really happy that she can rest now as she has looked really tired and also her earlier reaction indicated her exhaustion. All the children who notice her sleeping form, have to smile lovingly before looking back at the TV.

After the movie, Ethan sends them to bed, reads another story to the younger ones - especially the girls to distract them from their disagreement with Alma - before carrying the latter into her bed.

The next week passes by very quickly, more or less without any big arguments.

On Friday Enoch has his big driving test. He has been really nervous for the last days and spends most of the time in his room, rereading all the books from the driving school. Only the prospect of being allowed to drive on his own and going onto a joyride with Olive gives him enough strength.

On Friday morning he's sitting on the small table in the kitchen while Miss Peregrine says goodbye to the other children at the front door. As Enoch's test will be in an hour, he can't go to school this morning. Maybe if everything will be alright, he may go back to school afterwards.

But now he's deep in thoughts and a bit scared, even though he would never admit that. Yawning, Miss Peregrine enters the kitchen and sits down next to Enoch, a cup of coffee for both of them in her hands.

"How do you feel?" she asks her boy and slightly touches his hand before pulling back again.

"I'm ok," Enoch mumbles and then drinks his coffee to avoid talking to his headmistress.

Miss Peregrine takes the hint and stops interrogating him.

"I'm sure you will do alright. And even if not, you'll get the chance to do it again, so don't worry," she encourages him.

Enoch nods and then gets up to put the cup into the dishwasher.

"I have to leave now to be on time," he says and walks out of the room to get his things.

Miss Peregrine follows him, stifling another yawn.

"I wish you luck," she says and hugs Enoch before he leaves through the front door.

"Thank you Miss P.," he answers gratefully. "And get some rest while we're all gone, you look like you could need it," he adds winking before he walks around the corner to the bus stop.

Laughing Miss Peregrine waves him goodbye. "I know," she says, maybe more to herself.

She doesn't know why she's feeling so damn tired all of the time. Annoyed she goes back inside to get some work done before her children return and maybe she will even find some minutes to lie down as Enoch had suggested. But first she needs to finish the cake for him. Even if it may be possible that Enoch won't pass the test, Miss Peregrine needs to be prepared. She has bought a little keychain in the form of a car. Enoch may use it for the front door key or any other key but it's really meant for when he will have a car key on his own one day. Furthermore, Miss Peregrine has planned to bake a big chocolate cake in the shape of a car.

Quickly she goes into the kitchen to start with everything. And that's good as she's just ready as the door bell rings and the first children enter the house. Claire is really excited to see the magnificent cake in the kitchen and can't wait to see how Enoch will react.

And very soon she gets her wish as Enoch returns, beaming from one ear to the other. He can barely tell them all about the test as all children as well as Miss Peregrine storm towards him and start a big group hug.

Then Miss Peregrine goes into the kitchen and comes back with the big cake. After Enoch has freed himself from the others, he can't believe his eyes. Only being able to drive now has been good enough and now all this. Happily, he approaches his ymbryne who has placed the cake on the dining table and gives her a tight hug.

"Thank you Miss P.!" he says and even gives her a quick kiss on her cheek. "And not just for the cake but for everything you do for me, all the time."

"You're welcome Enoch," Miss Peregrine answers, touched and even a small tear escapes her left eye. She quickly wipes it away and pulls a small package out of her pocket.

"But it's not all," Miss Peregrine says and hands it to Enoch.

"Another present?" Enoch asks astonished. "But that wasn't necessary"

"I know," Miss Peregrine says as Enoch rips apart the wrapping paper. "But I wanted you to know that I'm really proud of you," she adds and this time she can't hold back her tears. Happy about his little present and touched by his ymbryne's reaction he hugs her again.

"Thank you!" he says again and Miss Peregrine has to smile.

Together they all spend a wonderful afternoon, eating the delicious cake and celebrating together, not caring about their duties for the day. Ethan has come as well after work, happy that his birthday present for Enoch turned out so good.

But way too soon the mood changes suddenly. As they have cleaned up everything from their little party and have eaten something small for dinner, Enoch wants to go for a ride with Olive in their car. Only Miss Peregrine suddenly doesn't want to keep her promise anymore and thinks that it's way too dangerous, especially as Enoch has no experience at all.

All the other children roll their eyes at another sudden mood change of Miss Peregrine but they quickly disappear into the girl's room to get out of the way. Ethan stays in the living room but doesn't say anything.

Enoch and Miss Peregrine keep shouting at each other for some time until their discussion ends with Enoch running out of the living room, slamming his door on the way. He just can't believe how Miss Peregrine changed her opinion all of a sudden, she has promised him some days ago that he can do it and now she just won't allow it at all. In her opinion it's too dangerous, especially when it's dark outside and wet. But at the same time, Enoch feels guilty for treating her like he did after all she has done for him. But he's still too angry at her for going outside and talking to her again.

Meanwhile the other children sit in their room and keep talking about their ymbryne. They are all confused about her reactions lately and don't understand her anymore.

Emma and Jake report that they had an argument with her too during the last days as they wanted to spend another night together and Miss Peregrine just didn't allow it even if she hadn't been so averse to it before. While they keep discussing it further, Fiona sits in the corner of the room and stays quiet.

As Olive notices it she asks her about it. So Fiona starts talking to her siblings about her problem. She has a lot of friends and usually spends many afternoons with them. Therefore they always meet somewhere. And as she has always been at her friend's houses they all want to come to her place now.

For a long time she has been able to avoid this subject but during the last week her friends have gotten more insistently. But Fiona has always been scared of asking Miss Peregrine. She knows that Miss Peregrine doesn't want other children in the house, being afraid that someone would notice anything about them. Unfortunately, Fiona's friends have talked her into a meeting this weekend and Fiona has tried to talk to Miss Peregrine for the whole week but was put off more than once by her bad mood.

And now it seems that she won't get the chance anymore. It's already Friday and Miss Peregrine is angry again. Fiona is really sad and all the others try to comfort her, especially Hugh who offers to be with her when she asks Miss Peregrine.

"Go on and ask her," he says. "The only thing that can happen is that she says no and when you don't ask at all it's the same thing." Fiona knows that he's right but is still too scared.

Together they all decide to let Ethan take care of Miss Peregrine for the night to give her time to calm down again and tomorrow they will all help Fiona with her request.

After they all leave the girl's room they pass Miss Peregrine and Ethan in the living room. Quietly they tiptoe into the bathroom.

While the younger ones get ready for bed, Ethan keeps talking to Alma who has placed her head into her hands and just listens to him. At first he tried to mediate between Enoch's as well as Alma's needs - Enoch's anticipation to drive alone and Alma's instinct to protect her boy. But then he got the impression that the source of this problem lies somewhere deeper.

"What's wrong with you lately?" he asks in a soft voice while taking Alma's hand in his.

"What do you mean?" she asks unsure, looking up at him.

"You've been agitated and unbalanced lately, always getting into fights with your children about nothing. You must have noticed that."

Alma nods shyly. Maybe she hasn't been as conscious of it as Ethan but she has noticed it as well.

"I don't know, I'm sorry," she sighs and lets her head fall back down again. "I just feel very tired all the time and before I even notice that I've overreacted it's already too late," she tries to explain. Understandingly and compassionately, Ethan walks around the table and takes her into his arms as Alma starts crying silently.

As she's calmed down again she looks back up at him. "Do you think I still feel like that because of the illness?" she asks, desperately looking for a plausible explanation.

"It's very likely that it's the reason for your exhaustion," Ethan answers honestly. "And we all know how feeling tired messes with one's emotions. So don't feel too guilty about it, we just have to get your exhaustion under control, alright?"

Sighing, Miss Peregrine nods. "Thank you!" she says relieved and plants a kiss on Ethan's hand while he just keeps stroking her back soothingly.

After all the children are in their beds, Miss Peregrine takes a look into every room to wish them a good night. Eventually she also knocks at the boys room, where Enoch is still on his own as Jake didn't dare to enter yet.

After Enoch lets her in, he and Miss Peregrine keep talking for a bit. Both of them are sorry for their fight and don't really understand how it escalated so quickly. Nonetheless Enoch sees Miss Peregrine as the guilty one and can't understand why she changed her mind as she has allowed it before. But as also Miss Peregrine herself can't explain it, they agree on a truce and Miss Peregrine assures him that he will be allowed to go for a drive on the weekend - at least during the day when the weather is good.

Relieved both of them go to bed but especially Miss Peregrine keeps thinking about it a lot before she finally falls asleep in Ethan's arms.


	35. Chapter 16 Part II

**Chapter 16**

 **Part II**

Then next morning everyone sleeps very late. Ethan has manipulated the time on Miss Peregrine's alarm clock so that she can sleep longer and therefore doesn't wake up until 11 o'clock.

Opening her eyes to an unusually bright room she first takes in Ethan's scent. Her head is lying on his chest and as he notices her moving slightly, he gently strokes her back.

"Good morning," he says lovingly and kisses her forehead. Miss Peregrine smiles and turns around to look at him properly.

"Have you slept alright?" Ethan keeps asking. "You look more rested than yesterday."

Miss Peregrine nods. "I have, thank you," she answers but still yawning.

"What time is it?" she asks then as she takes in the light from outside the room. She has woken up some time ago and took a look at the clock but as it said that it was only 6 o'clock she fell asleep once more, now she has no idea how much time has passed since then.

Ethan hesitates for some time until Alma directly looks into his eyes. As Ethan still doesn't say anything she takes a look at her clock herself. It shows 8 o'clock. Alma frowns.

"It's not really 8 o'clock, is it?" she asks unsure. "It's way too bright outside."

Ethan still doesn't say a word but at seeing her puzzled expression he can't help but smile a little bit.

"Hey!" Alma exclaims and playfully punches him. "You manipulated my clock!"

"Maybe," Ethan laughs and kisses Alma again.

"So what time is it really?" she wants to know.

Again Ethan hesitates before answering. "Round about 11 o'clock maybe," he says, nearly shyly.

"What?" Miss Peregrine asks back with a shocked expression and then shakes her head.

"But you needed it," Ethan justifies.

"I know," Miss Peregrine answers honestly while getting up slowly.

"Thank you!" she says before putting on her dressing gown and leaving for the bathroom to get ready.

Ethan himself gets up and dressed himself. He quickly washes his face and brushes his teeth at the little sink in the room before leaving for the living room.

He can hear that most of the children are already up, talking silently in their rooms. He wants to go to the kitchen to start preparing some breakfast, making up for the time he kept Miss Peregrine in bed.

But on his way through the deserted living room, he sees that Fiona is sitting on one of the couches, obviously waiting for someone.

"Hey, good morning," he greets her friendly. "Good morning," Fiona retorts but doesn't return the smile. A bit worried Ethan approaches and sits down next to her on the couch.

"Is everything alright?" he asks but Fiona just shrugs.

"Is Miss Peregrine awake?" she asks finally.

"Oh have you been waiting for her," Ethan guesses. "I'm sorry, I changed the time on her clock so she would sleep longer. I thought that she needs it and that you all would enjoy sleeping late as well. I didn't know that you waited for her," Ethan apologizes. Even if he would like to help Fiona he also understands that she rather turns to Miss Peregrine when she's having problems.

"But she's awake now," Ethan continues. "She's in the bathroom. Just go and wait for her in her room, then you can't miss her."

Unsure, Fiona nods and stands up slowly. She's not sure if Miss Peregrine would appreciate her being in her room and she wants her to be in the best mood possible when she'll ask her.

But Ethan just winks at her. "I'm going to tell her that you're waiting there for her, don't worry," he says. A little bit encouraged, Fiona makes her way to Miss Peregrine's room while Ethan follows her to knock at the bathroom and informing Miss Peregrine.

Then he makes his second attempt to go into the kitchen and starts preparing the breakfast.

Soon the other children gather in the living room. Some of them help Ethan or set the table, while Claire and Bronwyn are feeding their pets.

After some minutes Ethan is startled to see Fiona in the door of the kitchen as he just wanted to carry a pot full of porridge into the living room.

"Ethan?" she asks carefully.

"What's up Fiona?" he asks back while making his way past her to set the pot on the table.

"Is Alma still not ready?" he asks then and walks back into the kitchen to get the rest.

"No," Fiona says shyly. "And I think you should go and take a look because it sounds like she's sick or something."

"Are you sure?" Ethan asks , now a bit worried. The last time he saw her, Miss Peregrine looked alright, still a bit pale but so much better than yesterday.

Fiona shrugs. "I don't know exactly but I thought it's better to let you know.

"Yes, definitely, Fiona, thank you," Ethan answers and carries some sausages to the table before making his way to the bathroom. "I'll take a look, but you can still wait for her in her room," he calls back to Fiona.

Carefully he knocks at the door and calls for Miss Peregrine. Through the door he can only hear water from the sink and nothing else.

"Alma, could you please open the door," he says again and then he finally hears the clicking of the lock. Opening the door himself, he enters the bathroom and sees Alma walking back to the sink where she is just washing her face.

Confused, he approaches her and can see at her posture that she's hiding something from him.

"What's wrong?" he asks concerned and rubs her back gently. "Are you feeling sick?"

"I'm already feeling better," Miss Peregrine assures him and dries her face with her towel.

"But you had to throw up?" Ethan wants to make sure and Miss Peregrine nods.

"I've been feeling a bit nauseous sometimes before but I never had to throw up. It's probably just the stress, with the arguments and all" she sighs and turns back towards Ethan to leave the bathroom.

"Maybe," Ethan agrees. "But let's keep an eye on it." Miss Peregrine nods and they leave the bathroom together.

"Fiona wanted to talk to you. She told me to take a look at you and I sent her into your room to wait for you," Ethan lets her know as they part in the corridor.

Worriedly Miss Peregrine nods and goes into her room. _What could Fiona want this early. Is something wrong with her?_

Entering her room, she sees Fiona sitting on the small couch.

"Hey, are you alright?" Miss Peregrine asks and takes a seat next to her.

Fiona shrugs. "I guess so...Are you alright too?" she asks back. "I am, thank you, Fiona," Miss Peregrine assures her, giving her an encouraging smile.

"So why did you want to talk to me this early?" she asks.

Fiona looks down at her lap immediately and Miss Peregrine is unsure if she can see tears glistening in her girl's eyes. Caringly, she lays her arm around Fiona's shoulder and pulls her closer into her arm.

"Hey please tell me what's wrong," she says carefully.

Shyly, Fiona explains her problem and the conflict she's in. Miss Peregrine listens and begins to shake her head. This causes Fiona to really start crying.

"Hey, hey," don't cry," Miss Peregrine wants to comfort her.

"I knew that you would say 'No'," Fiona sobs, so Miss Peregrine hugs her even tighter.

She's nearly crying herself by now. _Damn it! Why can't she control her own emotions in front of her children..._

"But I didn't say 'No', did I?" she says, which makes Fiona look up in confusion.

"But you shook your head," Fiona argues.

"I shook my head because I was disappointed that I seem to be the reason why you let it come to this point. Why didn't you talk to me earlier?"

"I was sure that you wouldn't allow it as it could be dangerous for us all. And with your mood lately, I was even more afraid of asking," Fiona admits shyly.

"Oh," Miss Peregrine says, now really struggling to hold back her own tears.

"I'm really sorry to have made you feel this way," she says honestly. "I don't know why I behaved the way I did lately. I promise you that I never wanted that. As for your request, I'm so sorry that you thought I wouldn't allow it. Yes, of course it could be dangerous. But I also want you all to have a normal life like all the other children. And I don't want you to feel that you have to miss out on anything just because you're living with me instead of your real parents. When all your other friends are allowed to have friends coming over, then you may do that as well, alright?"

Immediately, Fiona's face lights up.

"Are you serious?" she asks and looks into Miss Peregrine's eyes, which are clearly as damp as her own.

Miss Peregrine just nods and forces herself to smile. She doesn't trust herself to keep her composure if she should say anything else.

Happily, Fiona hugs her ymbryne.

"You're the best!" she exclaims. "And we're having the best life possible with you. Please don't think that we would prefer anything else."

Miss Peregrine hugs Fiona back, what her girl has said touches her deeply and she can't hold back the tears any longer.

Happily both stay like that for a while until Miss Peregrine suggests to join the others for breakfast. Gladly Fiona follows her ymbryne.

As they both sit down at the table the other children guess from their expression that Miss Peregrine allowed Fiona's request. They all have to smile and are really happy for Fiona. During the meal, they all talk about what to do for the day. Fiona will call her friends after breakfast to let them know that they can come over. Miss Peregrine suggested to invite them for the afternoon, so they can eat cake together before they can go into her room or into the garden to spend some time alone. Happily Fiona accepts this idea and runs off to the phone as soon as she has finished eating.

After the breakfast the children have to practice their instruments before going to play. Emma and Jake have offered to do the grocery shopping while Miss Peregrine is busy in the kitchen with baking the cake.

As they have all had breakfast this late, none of them needs something for lunch.

Very soon the door bell rings and Fiona's friends arrive one after another. They are all dropped off by their parents, some of which Miss Peregrine knows from picking up Fiona from their houses. She invites them inside and talks for a while with the mothers but they are all too busy to stay any longer.

Therefore only the four girls sit with them on the table to eat the delicious cake and drink some hot chocolate. All four of them are really nice girls. Of course they have known that Fiona lives with a foster mother and many siblings but so far they have only known Hugh and Bronwyn from school.

Excited they talk with all the others as well. In the beginning they have felt a bit uncomfortable with talking to the twins or Millard as they have never seen children who have to wear such masks or a overall like Millard but soon they got used to it and they all spend a joyful afternoon together, playing lots of games inside the house and also in the garden. Proudly, Fiona presents all her lovely flowers and plants, which her friends have wanted to see for a long time.

All four girls stay for dinner. They have agreed on eating some fresh vegetables out of Fiona's vegetable garden, which Miss Peregrine and Ethan prepare while the others are watching something on TV.

After the dinner, Fiona's friends are picked up. They all say thank you for the lovely afternoon and evening and are looking forward to the next time. Happily and relieved beyond belief, Fiona waves them goodbye before going back into the house.

Soon Ethan has to leave, too. He says good night to them all, gives Alma another kiss before driving off.

Left on their own again, Miss Peregrine and the children decide to go to bed early. Even though they have all slept late they are tired from the eventful day. As all the children are in their beds and everything is cleaned up, Miss Peregrine goes to bed herself. After getting ready at her sink, she lies down and decides to read a bit in her new book.

After only a couple of pages, she hears someone knocking at her door though. As she invites her guest in, she sees Fiona entering her room. Miss Peregrine motions for her to sit down next to her, so Fiona climbs into the bed and Miss Peregrine covers her as well with her blanket.

"I wanted to thank you for the great day," Fiona begins and smiles at her ymbryne.

"You're welcome, Fiona. I'm happy that you enjoyed the day. And you're friends are really lovely girls, they are allowed to visit you any time you want, alright?" Miss Peregrine says.

"Oh, yes, thank you. I think they really liked it here as well," Fiona answers.

Miss Peregrine takes Fiona in her arms again.

"I'm sorry that I made it so difficult for you," she says. " I never wanted any of you to be afraid of talking to me."

"Don't worry," Fiona cuts in. "We know that. I guess I was just a bit insecure for a moment but it's over now. I know that you only want the best for us and I'm sure the others know that as well," Fiona assures her ymbryne, who's close to tears again.

At seeing it, Fiona has to laugh a bit. She's not used to her ymbryne showing so many emotions on just one day but it's kind of cute.

"Thank you Fiona," Miss Peregrine says grateful and gives her girl a kiss on the head.

Fiona smiles. She hasn't felt this happy for a very long time. Not that she's usually unhappy but today was a very special day and now being here in her ymbryne's bed feels really good, like when she was younger. She had always felt protected in Miss Peregrine's arms.

"May I stay here a little while longer while you still read?" she asks her ymbryne.

Miss Peregrine has to smile. "Of course you can," she says happily. Also for her it's something she likes and even misses sometimes as all her children are now so old that they don't come cuddling as often as they used to.

Miss Peregrine lays her arm around Fiona and continues with her book. After some time as she feels tired enough to stop reading, she places the book on the nightstand and takes a look at her girl. Fiona is lying in her arm, her head resting on her left shoulder. She has fallen asleep some time ago. Miss Peregrine watches her sleeping form for some time until she switches off the light. She wouldn't have the heart to wake Fiona while she's sleeping so peacefully and besides she's really enjoying it herself.

Happily she closes her eyes and falls into a peaceful sleep as well.


	36. Chapter 17 Part I

**Chapter 17**

 **Part I**

Another few weeks have passed again more or less without little arguments between the children and their ymbryne or her and Ethan. But all in all the mood is good as it's getting closer to Christmas. While Ethan has a lot to do in his office with the flu season and everything and Miss Peregrine is more than busy with all the Christmas preparations, the children are looking forward to their holidays. There's not much to do for school at the moment so the children play a lot in the afternoons, that is when Miss Peregrine doesn't give them more chores. Her mood has gotten slightly better as she seems to be aware of it now but the children still don't dare contradict her too much.

Besides they all see that she's in a lot of stress with decorating the house and the garden, baking cookies and going shopping - probably their Christmas presents. Therefore at least the teenagers help her as much as possible.

On one morning as the children are all in school, Ethan has taken the day off and goes Christmas shopping with Alma. She has asked him for help, especially with the presents for her boys.

As they are strolling through a shopping mall, already a few bags in their hands, they are talking about where to go next . They have already gotten some toys for the younger children and now still need something for the older ones.

"But let's go and sit down in a cafe first. I'm in need of some caffeine," Ethan jokes. Laughing herself, Alma nods and they go looking for a cafe.

They find a nice table in the corner with enough space for their shopping bags before ordering some drinks. While enjoying their coffees, they keep talking about their next destinations. Alma wants to go into a clothing store to get something for Horace and her girls before going into a store where they can get some technical stuff maybe for Jake or Enoch.

"You're sure that you still don't want any of the others to have a mobile phone?" Ethan wants to know.

"Definitely not!" Alma answers, giving Ethan one of her death glares, which ends the discussion.

"Anyway," Ethan continues. "Then we still need something for Hugh and Millard as well as other little things for everyone."

Alma nods before taking another sip of her coffee. As the caffeine starts flush through her veins she already feels a lot better. She has been feeling so tired during the last weeks and can't explain why. Maybe it's still because of her illness or because of the stress lately. She only hopes that it will get better when Christmas is over and they all spend a quiet holiday.

"Ok, let's go then," she says and wants to stand up as she feels a mild abdominal twinge.

Immediately her rights hand starts rubbing the area of her lower abdomen.

"Are you alright?" Ethan answers concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine, " Alma assures him and as he still doesn't take his eyes of her she continues.

"I'm probably just getting my period, that's all," she laughs and winks at Ethan.

"Alright, alright," he answers laughing as well as they both get up to carry on with their shopping before returning to the children. Of course they have brought all the presents to Ethan's house so that the children won't know what they have been up to.

They spend the afternoon with decorating the garden and the outside of the house together before enjoying dinner.

A couple of days later Ethan meets up with them again as there's the Christmas concert of the High School, where all the children take part in. Of course Horace plays something on the piano and also the other children will present something on their instruments as well as with their classes, as every class needs to perform a song.

The whole family is really looking forward to it, hoping that it will help to get in the Christmas mood. They are used to celebrate Christmas during the warm season from their old loop but here in Florida it still feels kind of strange. In Wales they could at least go out of the loop for a quick snowball fight or something.

Early enough Ethan arrives in front of their house to pick them all up. Half of them enter Ethan's car while the others already sit in the big car of Jake's parents. For the first time Enoch is allowed to drive them instead of Jake.

During the concert, Miss Peregrine sits with Ethan and the younger children, while Millard, Horace, Emma, Olive, Enoch and Jake need to sit with the other students.

It's a wonderful concert with the performances of the classes as well as the solo parts of a few chosen students like all of Miss Peregrine's children. They belong to the best musicians among all students, something, Miss Peregrine is really proud of.

During the whole concert, she struggles to keep herself from crying. The whole atmosphere, the Christmas songs and then the performance of her children makes her really emotional. Ethan keeps taking her hand in his and smiles at her but it only makes it worse and Alma can't stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks while smiling at the same time.

After the successful concert Ethan suggests to get something to eat from a drive-in restaurant so no one has to cook and they are all a bit hungry. All the children are delighted, so Alma doesn't even have the chance to object. But luckily she doesn't really want to and is happy with the idea.

At home they eat all the things they have bought together, everyone sharing with everyone.

Afterwards, the children go to bed happily but still exhausted. Alma reads a story to the little ones while Ethan cleans up their dishes before they meet in the living room again. Ethan has gotten a bottle of wine and two glasses. He is just pouring his glass as Alma sits down in the couch next to him.

"Do you want a glass as well?" Ethan asks but Alma shakes her head.

"No, I'd rather not," she says and lies back into the couch, stifling a yawn.

"Are you still having troubles with your stomach from time to time?" Ethan asks as he sits down next to her, taking a sip of his wine.

"Yes, sometimes," Miss Peregrine admits. "But I think it's just the stress and I'm sure that it's going to get better after Christmas."

"Hopefully," Ethan says and takes a closer look at Alma as she rests her head against his shoulder and closes her eyes.

"You're still feeling so tired all the time?" Ethan wants to know next. Miss Peregrine just nods but doesn't open her eyes. She doesn't want to talk about it now.

"You need to take it easy, Alma" Ethan keeps talking, ignoring her wish.

"I know," she sighs. "But the Christmas time is always stressful, I can't just omit half of our rituals."

"Then let the children help you at least," Ethan argues.

"Ok, I'll try," Miss Peregrine says just to stop this discussion. "But let's rather talk about Christmas itself. What are you going to do, are you celebrating with your family?" she wants to know.

Ethan tells Alma about his Christmas tradition, that he and his sisters are always visiting their mother with all the grand-children. But he promises to come back on Boxing Day to celebrate with Alma and the children.

They keep talking and cuddling for some time. Alma tells Ethan about the postcard that Jake got the day before. It was from his parents. They wished them all a merry Christmas from Africa. It's the last continent, they are planning to visit and are already looking forward to seeing Jake again in a couple of months. Together with Ethan, they think about the time afterwards, that Alma probably will have to find a new home and that it will be difficult for Jake to decide where to live then.

As Miss Peregrine is so tired that she can barely keep her eyes open anymore, Ethan stands up to put away the rest of the wine as well as the glasses. As he returns, Alma is sitting upright again, her knees drawn to her chest.

"Are you alright?" Ethan asks, looking at her strained expression. " Are you in pain again?"

Alma just nods, her eyes still closed. "Menstrual cramps?" Ethan asks understandingly while sitting down next to her, stroking Alma's back but she shakes her head.

"It feels like it, but no. I still haven't had my period since last week," she admits.

"How long are you overdue now?" Ethan asks.

Miss Peregrine shrugs. "I don't know, a couple of weeks maybe," she guesses. "But Catherine said that it can happen as I've just started taking the contraceptive pill."

Ethan nods again. "I know, she's right. And the stress is probably doing the rest. I'll get you a hot water bottle and you go to bed, alright?"

Miss Peregrine gives Ethan a grateful smile. "Thank you!"she says before going into her own room.

After she has gotten ready and Ethan has brought her the hot-water bottle, he kisses her good night and leaves as he has to go to work early tomorrow.

Exhausted, Miss Peregrine closes her eyes and quickly falls asleep.

The next days rush past so fast that they are all surprised that it's nearly the 25th. The children have a lot of Christmas parties, in school and training as well as with the team of the Smart aid shop where the teenagers are still working regularly. But as soon as the holidays begin it gets a lot more quiet.

Together with Miss Peregrine the children spend some wonderful days, just doing what they want. They sleep late and play board games. Often they would just lie on the couches, eating Miss Peregrine's delicious Christmas cookies and listening to Christmas songs. They all get to relax after the last stressful weeks and especially Miss Peregrine really appreciates it. Sometimes she would just join her kids on the sofa and doze off while watching them play.

In the evenings they sometimes go outside very late, when it's already dark and take a look at the shiny Christmas decorations in the neighbourhood. One evening, Ethan has even taken them with him on his boat which is also decorated with lights. And on their ride on the water they even meet other decorated boats, a very beautiful sight as the sun has already set.

Ethan has spent some relaxed afternoons with them, too, before he had to leave for his family reunion only a few days before Christmas.

On one of their afternoons without Ethan, Alma has invited Catherine for afternoon coffee with Christmas cookies and playing cards. They all spent another funny afternoon with her and all the children really enjoy the jolly mood of their ymbryne when she's with Catherine.

The days before Christmas, Miss Peregrine is sometimes looking for her children but they are hiding in their rooms, seemingly preparing Christmas gifts as Miss Peregrine is not allowed inside.

And all of a sudden it's already Christmas day. Very early, Miss Peregrine gets up to prepare everything. She takes away the plate with Christmas cookies that Claire has put on the table for Santa the night before, a tradition that she didn't want to give up, although all the children know by now that Santa don't really exist.

Then she places all the presents under the Christmas tree, that's located in between the couches and the terrace door, before she prepares the breakfast. Very soon the younger children come running out of their rooms. They are all very excited and jump out of their bed as soon as they open their eyes.

Enthusiastically they run around the Christmas tree and take a look at all the presents, imagining what might be under the wrapping paper.

Laughing, Miss Peregrine joins them to let them know that they have to wait until everyone is awake. And as the mystery and anticipation of the presents is gone too soon anyway, she decides to have breakfast before opening the presents as well.

Soon the older children wake up and bring their wrapped presents into the living room. Together they eat the breakfast, Miss Peregrine has prepared. Even if the younger children keep looking towards the Christmas tree more than to the food they are eating.

As Claire even chokes on her pancake, Miss Peregrine needs to step in.

"Children, please! We will go over to the tree very soon, just concentrate on the breakfast until then, ok?" she says laughing.

The older children have to laugh as well. Even if they are excited about the Christmas presents as well, their anticipation has decreased during the last years. Reluctantly, the little ones concentrate on their food.

Luckily they are finished very soon and after cleaning up the table, they gather on the couches next to the Christmas tree.

One after another they are allowed to open their presents. They have to roll the dice though and everyone who's got a 1 or 6 can open a present.

All the children are really happy with their presents and keep hugging their ymbryne every time they unwrap one. Miss Peregrine enjoys the joy of her children and is on the verge of tears once more. Emma who notices the few tears on her cheeks sits down next to her.

"Why are you crying?" she asks with a smile on her lipstick-covered lips, she's not used to their ymbryne showing so many emotions.

"I don't know, I'm just really happy," Miss Peregrine answers and returns the smile.

In the meantime, Claire and Bronwyn have unwrapped their new dolls and have started playing with them. Olive is showing her new dress to Enoch, while Horace inspects the fabric of his new shirt.

And after the young couples have exchanged their presents for each other, the children present their present for Miss Peregrine. They have thought of a lot of things they have written on vouchers, decorated with little pictures, drawn by Emma and Olive and gathered as a little booklet. It contains for example vouchers for doing the laundry, mowing the lawn or cleaning the house.

Miss Peregrine is really touched by this gesture and thanks them all.

As they are all finished, they spend the day with their presents. Showing them to each other or playing with them. Later on they play some Christmas songs on their instruments all together and Miss Peregrine reads a Christmas story out of her book.

In the late afternoon Miss Peregrine goes into the kitchen and starts cooking a special meal with everything, her children have wished for. After they have all eaten together and even finished the tasty dessert, they gather around the Christmas tree once more. Outside it's already dark, so they enjoy the lights on the tree and everywhere else in the house.

They have another look at their presents, cuddle on the couches together and sing Christmas songs, before the little ones fall asleep.

Happily, Alma carries them to their beds and wishes all her children another good night before going to bed as well.

The next morning the children get up very soon again - at least the younger ones. They are still enjoying the festive atmosphere and start playing with their new toys even before breakfast.

During the forenoon, Ethan comes back from his family to celebrate with them. They repeat parts of their ritual from yesterday. Alma has asked her children to play a few songs for Ethan before they exchange presents again.

All the children have collected as much money as they could give - of course the most is from the teenagers who are working- to make it possible for Miss Peregrine and Ethan to spend a weekend in a wellness hotel. Alma and Ethan are overwhelmed with joy as well as surprise. They have never expected something from the children especially not something as expensive as this. Nonetheless they are really happy and excited about this possibility. Afterwards Ethan gives them his presents before Alma and Ethan exchange their gifts.

Alma has made a special necklace for Ethan with a blue feather of her own and Ethan has gotten her a very beautiful and elegant hairclip. Again, Miss Peregrine can't help but cry out of joy and Ethan takes her in his arms, also very happy.

In the evening they eat all the tasty leftovers from yesterday and for all of them it seems as if Miss Peregrine has cooked it only for today again.

Afterwards the children have begged to see a film on TV, something that's supposed to be a Christmas story even if Alma and Ethan don't really see it like that. So while the children seem glued to the television, they are content with just themselves, snuggled together on the couch. As Miss Peregrine is still very exhausted from the last days she falls asleep in Ethan's arms very soon.


	37. Chapter 17 Part II

**Chapter 17**

 **Part II**

On the next morning all of them sleep very late again. Ethan has stayed for the night and is enjoying the sight of Alma, asleep in his arms. Once again he feels so lucky to have found her and the children, who are now his perfect family.

As it's already quite late and as Miss Peregrine starts stirring he caresses her arms, which soon makes her wake up completely. Sleepily but smiling she looks up at Ethan who gives her a good morning kiss. A little bit longer they stay arm in arm in the bed until Alma thinks it necessary to get up for her children. To tease her and keep her in bed longer, Ethan starts tickling her until she jumps out of the bed to escape him and get dressed.

But as soon as she's upright a sudden dizziness comes over her and she has to grab the bedpost to steady herself.

"Alma!" Ethan calls and immediately he is by her side.

"What's wrong?"

Alma shrugs as she sits down again. "I felt really light-headed all of a sudden."

"Is it better now?" Ethan asks concerned and rubs her back.

"A bit but it's not gone yet," Miss Peregrine sighs and lies back into Ethan's chest.

Carefully Ethan lies her down on the bed again and stands up to take a good look at her. Again she looks really pale and by now Ethan is really worried about her.

"It's probably just the stress again or I stood up to quickly," Alma plays it down as she closes her eyes. By now this excuse passes her lips without thinking about it.

"No, Alma," Ethan cuts in. "You've been feeling unwell for some time now and the last days have been more quiet. I don't think it's just stress anymore." Miss Peregrine opens her eyes again and looks at him expectantly as well as worried.

"You're really tired all the time, you look pale, you are agitated and short tempered. On the other side you seem very emotional lately and then there's the nausea and now the dizziness..." Ethan lists all her symptoms.

Shocked he covers his mouth with his hands all of a sudden. "Oh my god...Why didn't I think of that?"

"What? What is it?" Alma asks now a little bit scared.

"You still haven't got your period again, right?" Ethan wants to make sure and Miss Peregrine shakes her head in confusion. She's not really getting what he's playing at.

"Oh my god, I should have known that but It would have been the last thing I could think of. But now it seems so obvious," Ethan keeps talking to himself.

Impatiently Miss Peregrine sits up again.

"Ethan! Would you please tell me what's wrong," she says as calm as possible.

Ethan walks around the room and rakes his fingers through his hair. Eventually he approaches Alma and sits down next to her, not breaking eye contact.

He takes a deep breath before he answers.

"It is possible that you are pregnant, Alma," he says, his voice trembling a little bit. Alma doesn't know if it's shock or joy, she can't detect any feelings when looking into his eyes. Besides she's too shocked to detect anything. Ethan's words are still echoing through her head. She has heard him but she doesn't understand the meaning and it doesn't make sense to her.

"What?" she stumbles. "How?"

"I think you know the answer to that one," Ethan jokes but as he sees that Alma still can't comprehend what he's just told her, his expression gets serious again.

"But how is that possible? You and Catherine said that these pills I take are contraceptive..." she asks confused.

"Yes, they are," Ethan answers. "But unfortunately they are not one hundred percent save."

Miss Peregrine's expression still shows total confusion while in Ethan's head everything seems to make sense all of a sudden.

"Do you remember when you were sick? You complained about intestinal disorder, right?" Ethan asks Alma, who nods hesitantly.

"That could be the reason that the pill didn't work correctly," Ethan explains.

It takes a while until Alma has processed all this information and can think again.

"And now?" she asks Ethan.

"I'm going to call Catherine to ask when she can take a look at you, then we will know for sure," Ethan answers and pulls out his mobile phone.

"How's your dizziness?" he inquires while he dials Catherine's number.

"Gone I think," Alma answers. With all that has been going on she has totally forgotten about the dizziness.

"Ok, then you can get dressed while I talk to Catherine," Ethan says before he leaves the room for the phone call.

A couple of minutes later he returns and Miss Peregrine is nearly dressed but she still can't understand what's happening around her. Expectantly she looks up at Ethan.

"Luckily Catherine has time now. We will meet her in front of her office in 15 minutes," Ethan reports while quickly grabbing his own clothes.

Alma nods slowly, not sure if she should feel relieved or even more scared.

"What about the children?" she asks then.

"I guess they're all still asleep, at least I haven't seen anyone outside. I'd say we just leave them a note."

"Alright," Miss Peregrine says while doing her hair and then she's ready to go. As also Ethan has finished with everything, they both go into the living room. Ethan writes a small note for the children, saying that they had to go to an appointment but will be back very soon, hopefully before breakfast. If not, the older children will hopefully be able to take care of that.

Then both of them leave the house and enter Ethan's car.

Nearly 45 minutes later, they leave Catherine's office, both speechless.

Catherine has stayed behind to clean up the rest and to give them some privacy.

Ethan is the first to recover from the shock.

"Wow," he says and looks at Alma, waiting for any kind of response.

She lets go of a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"And now?" she repeats her earlier question, not with less insecurity.

"Now, we're going to be parents," Ethan exclaims happily. By now he has overcome the first shock and only feels joy. He has been wanting to be a father for so long but he has given up hoping for it long ago. And now as he found Alma and the children he was happy but knew that it wouldn't change the fact that he won't have children of his own.

"At least you're happy," Alma remarks and looks down at the ground. Immediately Ethan reacts on it and takes her hand in his, gently placing a kiss on her palm.

"Of course I am," he says. "It's wonderful, we've created a new little human being."

"I know, don't get me wrong. I guess I'm happy too. But it's still a huge shock. My whole life I knew that I won't have children of my own but it was enough to know that I'm still going to be a mother for so many children. And now this. It's just crazy and so,...so unexpected. I don't know what to feel," Alma tires to explain her feelings.

"I understand that," Ethan encourages her.

They keep walking a few metres in silence. As they reach Ethan's car, Alma stops.

"I'm not ready to go home yet," she admits.

"Ok," Ethan just says. "Then let's go for a little walk." Miss Peregrine nods and arm in arm they walk along the street towards a little park.

They keep walking around for a little while, remaining silent or talking. Ethan caresses Alma's shoulder soothingly, knowing that it's a much bigger shock for her. They keep talking of their new future and how they are going to handle everything. Alma still feels very insecure and asks lots of questions, what's happening now and what she's supposed to do. Another thing she wants to talk about is how they are going to talk to the children. Should they tell them immediately or wait until they can be more sure that nothing is going to happen to the child? Ethan says that Alma should decide that. He doesn't want to give the children false hope as it's still so early in the pregnancy. But on the other hand, they are all so much more mature than they look and Alma never has such big secrets from her children. In the end Miss Peregrine decides to tell her children but with all the possibilities and risks.

As she finally feels ready to go, they go back to the car to drive back home. On the way, Ethan stops at his office to get some folic acid because Alma should take it as soon as possible as Ethan expects her blood level to be too low and he hopes that it will be still soon enough.

At home, the children are already awake. The teenagers have started preparing breakfast, which Fiona and Hugh are beginning to serve while Horace and Millard are setting the table.

As they see both adults entering the house, they are very curious to know where they've been.

Miss Peregrine says that she's going to tell them after breakfast, which kind of calms them down enough. But as soon as Miss Peregrine has finished her last piece of toast, they keep bombarding her with questions. Never has their ymbryne been away when they woke up and if she's had an appointment before she has always told them what it was unless it was a surprise or something.

"Ok," Miss Peregrine says and swallows the last of her breakfast. "Ethan and I have to tell you something."

All the children fall quiet immediately and look at the adults expectantly. Of course the older ones can feel the tension in the room, they just hope that it's nothing bad.

Miss Peregrine takes another deep breath and looks back at Ethan for mental support. He just gives her an encouraging smile.

"Are you two going to get married?" Claire blurts out in her childish curiousness.

Both, Alma and Ethan chuckle.

"No, Claire, it's not that," Miss Peregrine assures her still smiling about the idea of her little girl.

"At least not for now," Ethan adds and smiles at Alma.

"What is it then?" Millard asks, getting impatient.

As Miss Peregrine still hesitates with her answer, Ethan steps in to help.

"Do you remember your many fights with your ymbryne lately?" he asks the children, who nod but look at him confused. "And I bet you have wondered what's wrong with her, as she has never been like that before. One moment everything is fine and in the next she's angry about something you've done." Again the children nod.

Alma glares at Ethan as he makes it sound like she's someone with a mental health problem but Ethan continues.

"We've now figured out what causes her mood swings," he explains before looking at Alma. With a small smile he encourages her to carry on, to just get it over with

"Ok," Alma sighs and looks at her children.

"Ethan and I are going to have a baby," she breaks the news and looks at the shocked expressions of her children.

Some look confused, a few boys are too shocked, their mouths agape. The girls are slowly starting to smile.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Olive exclaims and stands up to hug her ymbryne.

"Yes," Claire cheers. "I've always wanted to be a big sister. Is it going to be a girl? I could play with her with my dolls."

Claire would have kept on babbling if Emma wouldn't have stopped her with a light touch of her knee under the table.

"Congratulations!" she says joyfully. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy about the news, but how? I mean, it can't have been planned as you are taking contraceptives, right?"

"That's what I would like to know, too," Enoch cuts in, finally recovered from his first shock.

Helplessly, Miss Peregrine looks at Ethan for support. She wouldn't know how to explain something like that to her children and besides, she feels slightly uncomfortable as she's such a bad role model for her girls.

"You're right, Emma," he starts. "It wasn't planned but that doesn't mean we're not happy about it. But yes, unfortunately the contraceptive pill isn't as save as your way of contraception. And as Alma was sick last month, her body couldn't absorb the hormone as good as usually, so the contraception couldn't work.

The teenagers nod understandingly while the other children don't really get what they are talking about. But they don't need to as they are already discussing their plans for the future with a new child in the house.

"But here's no room in the house," Claire points out. "Where should she sleep?"

"But you can't know if it's going to be a girl. It could also be a boy, then we can play football with him," Hugh argues.

"Anyway, what will be its surname. Will it be called Sands or Peregrine. I mean it can't be called both, can it? So you have to get married after all," Bronwyn concludes.

Ethan and Alma have to laugh out loud.

"That's a very good question," Miss Peregrine answers. "But we've only just been told that we're going to have the baby, we didn't have time to think about that. As for your question, Claire, you're right, the house is getting too small and when Jake's parents will return soon, we will have to look for another house anyway."

"Oh, can we move in with Ethan?" Millard begs. "His house is big enough and we could play football in his garden, too."

All children begin to cheer.

"Children, children," Miss Peregrine tries to calm them down.

"There are so many questions but I'm afraid I can't answer them right now. This is all new to me too. But I will think about all these things in time."

The children want to talk about moving in with Ethan again but Miss Peregrine has answered in such a voice that all further discussions seem undesired.

"But children, please know that there are still many things that can happen. Especially early in a pregnancy there can be many complications," Miss Peregrine wants to explain as best as possible.

"What does that mean?" Claire asks confused.

"It means that the baby could die, dummy," Hugh says annoyed.

"What?" Bronwyn and Claire say in unison.

"Girls, girls," Ethan says while Alma glares at Hugh. "What Alma wanted to say was that it's way too early to plan every detail of our future. It's possible that there won't be a baby after all. We just thought you should know that."

All children nod but especially the younger ones look sad.

"But hey," Ethan continues. "We can still be happy about it now and hope for the best." This makes the children smile again.

The rest of the day they all spend together, talking about everything. Especially the girls have a lot of questions for both adults.

Claire and Bronwyn started playing with their dolls, pretending that they were little babies they have to care for and Ethan shows them how to hold a baby properly while Olive and Emma are interested in how Miss Peregrine feels, if she can feel that there's a new human being growing inside of her.

The boys and especially Jake and Enoch feel rather embarrassed with such female issues. But nonetheless they are really happy for their ymbryne as they know that she's going to be a great mother.

In the evening, after all the children have gone to bed, Alma and Ethan are still sitting in the living room. Ethan has gotten a glass of wine for himself, as he said he needed one after this day.

"I'm sorry but no alcohol for you anymore," he teases Alma as he sits down next to her.

"That's no problem," she says happily and leans into Ethan's arms. While he embraces her and caresses her shoulder, they keep talking on their own again. Alma still has some questions and worries that she wants to talk about without their children knowing it. Ethan manages to explain everything to her and take away her worries.

"Don't be scared, Alma. We're in it together and I'm not leaving you. Whatever happens, we will manage it all together," Ethan promises before kissing her passionately. As they go to bed together, Miss Peregrine thinks that she has never felt happier.

The rest of the Christmas holidays they all spend together, Miss Peregrine, the children and Ethan, going on short trips or just playing at home. Of course the pregnancy is still an issue. But with their everyday life and Miss Peregrine looking the same as ever, the children sometimes forget about it again.

For Miss Peregrine it's a bit different. She's still suffering from all her pregnancy complaints. She's always feeling very tired as well as nauseous and dizzy from time to time. The change of her body, even though not visible yet, really troubles her. And also her mood swings are getting worse. She's now more aware of it and can react better on it and also her children can understand it now, but it's still annoying.

Furthermore she feels very unsure about everything. How is she supposed to behave, what is she allowed to do and what could harm the baby. Every time she feels just a tiny twinge, she asks Ethan if it's still normal.

For a woman with so many children she's unusually insecure. But who could blame her, as she has never born a child on her own.

Catherine helps her a lot and also Ethan is very patient and understanding. He helps her with everything, answers her questions, takes away her worries and gives her tips to feel better. She should start eating smaller portions but more regularly and should also keep exercising even though not too hard. With time and a few changes in their daily routine, they all begin to get used to the new situation and really look forward to a baby in the house.

* * *

 **Hello everyone! Now it's out in the open, the idea I've had some time ago. I hope you liked the news as well as this chapter. How do you feel about Miss Peregrine being pregnant? What would you want the baby to be? A girl or a boy? And do you think it should be peculiar, too, and if, what peculiarity should it have? I'm really interested in your opinion!**


	38. Chapter 18 Part I

**Chapter 18**

 **Part I**

"Oh my god!" Miss Peregrine says while tears of joy are slowly gathering in the corner of her eyes.

"It's so small but you can already see his head and his body and his limbs."

"That's right. It's so tiny but in just two weeks all that's making it a human being will already be there," Ethan explains while looking lovingly at the screen.

Ethan and Miss Peregrine are once more in Catherine's office, this time for the first trimester screening. After Catherine has taken some blood samples from Alma, she began with the ultrasound.

Ethan but especially Alma are mesmerized by the sight of her child. Of course Ethan has seen something like that before, during his training and from his sisters, but this time it's different. It's his own child and the patient on the examination chair is the woman he loves.

Luckily, Catherine doesn't find anything that could be dangerous for the child - so far it seems completely healthy. Ethan and Alma are really relieved, they both have been a bit nervous about this screening.

After Catherine has printed the ultrasound image for Alma to take it home, she lets Alma clean herself up and goes to get the blood samples ready for the transport to the laboratory.

"I will call you when the results come back but I'm sure that everything will be alright," she says and winks at Alma.

"Thank you, Catherine," she says while standing up.

"And you know that you can call me whenever you have a question or something," Catherine adds, smiling at Alma.

Ethan and Alma invite Catherine for dinner in a few days and then leave the office where already a lot of other patients are waiting.

The last weeks have passed by quite quickly. Like always there was a lot to do for Miss Peregrine and the children. Ethan has helped them as much as he could and was spending nearly every second night at their place. It's not a perfect solution but for now he's content with living at two places.

He has tried to help Alma with the big change in her life, taking a bit of her workload, talking to the children to let them know what they can do to help their ymbryne and especially helping her with the new arrangement of her daily routine.

Both of them have decided that Alma shouldn't transform into a bird anymore, as none of them knows what it might do to the unborn child. Therefore she doesn't go for flights any more. Instead, Ethan has registered Alma for a pregnancy yoga class somewhere near his office. He usually takes her with him in the morning as soon as the children have left for school.

The yoga class is every second day, except for the weekends. On every other day, Ethan drops Alma off at the indoor swimming pool, where she swims for some time before taking the bus back home to start with the preparations for lunch or doing some housework. The early pregnancy doesn't keep her from fulfilling her duties yet but she's still feeling quite tired and even nauseous from time to time. But with the end of the third month of her pregnancy, that's slowly getting better and she can carry on with her life like before.

After Ethan and Alma have left Catherine's office they go for a little walk through town before returning home. They keep talking a bit of what they've just experienced, really seeing their child for the first time. And also for the first time they start planning their future. Until now both of them have been too afraid to think about it in case something happens to the child. But now as the most critical phase of the pregnancy is nearly over, they feel optimistic enough.

While walking through the streets, they pass a store with baby clothes. Immediately, Alma stops and takes a look at all the tiny dresses, shirts and trousers in the window. If she could, she would buy them all.

"Look at that! Isn't it cute?" she asks Ethan and shows him a little blue dress with roses on it.

"It is," Ethan confirms smiling. He looks at Alma in adoration. How she enjoys browsing through the clothes, how happy she is. If you don't know it, you won't really see that she's pregnantyet but even if Ethan knows that it will be a difficult time for her, he secretly looks forward to looking at her pregnant body.

"Do you want to buy it?" he asks her while laying his arm around her shoulder.

"Do you?" Alma asks back.

"I think it's very beautiful and if you like it you should buy it," Ethan says.

"But we don't even know if it's going to be a girl or a boy," Miss Peregrine has to admit. "Maybe we should wait until we know it and come back then."

"That would be wise but the dress might be sold by then. I think you should buy it anyway and maybe we can go inside and find something else that can be used for girls and boys as well," Ethan suggests and Alma smiles.

Inside the shop Alma finds so many other pretty things for babies but with Ethan's help she decides on a beautiful little baby bodysuit.

Happy both of them leave the store and drive home. Ethan is really glad that Alma is so happy at the moment. The first weeks haven't been so easy as she hasn't been feeling too good most of the time. But now as her complaints have decreased she can finally start enjoying her pregnancy as well.

At home they both join the children in the garden. During their appointment, Emma and Olive have offered to take care of the children, while Enoch and Jake went into town to meet with some other boys for the afternoon.

In the evening, after they have returned, the whole family eats lunch together. While Ethan has played football with the children, Miss Peregrine has been making lasagne, which the children really love.

During the meal, the children report what they had been up to until the adults returned. First they went to the playground and then the younger ones went into their rooms to draw some pictures, while the boys read some books. Claire goes to get one of her pictures to show it to their ymbryne.

"This is me and this is you, with the baby in your arms" she explains to Miss Peregrine who has to smile.

"That's a really beautiful picture," she says and strokes Claire's back. One the one hand, Miss Peregrine is happy about her children's reactions to her pregnancy. But on the other hand, she fears what will happen to them and their anticipation when something should happen to the child.

Ethan seems to read her thoughts and wants to light the mood as well as make the children aware of possible complications once more.

"We have something to show you too," he says and walks over to the couch, where Miss Peregrine has placed their shopping bag as they arrived. Ethan takes out the baby clothes and lets Alma present them to the children.

"Oh, that's so cute!" Emma and Olive exclaim.

"It's so tiny, it could fit one of our dolls," Bronwyn remarks, looking at Claire who nods in agreement.

"Yes it is," Miss Peregrine confirms. "When the baby will be born it won't be bigger than your dolls"

The younger girls look astonished. "Really?" Claire asks back and Ethan nods.

"Does this mean that it's going to be a girl?" Fiona asks curiously after inspecting the little dress.

"Oh, no, we still don't know the gender of the child," Miss Peregrine informs them. "Alma just fell in love with the dress, that's all," Ethan explains laughing and all the children have to smile too.

"Yes, that's right, I think this little dress is just adorable, but I don't care if it's going to be a girl or a boy, as long as it's a healthy baby," Miss Peregrine says and takes Ethan's hand.

"That's right, nothing else matters," Ethan confirms.

"So does the fact that you started buying something for it mean that you're more sure now that it will survive?" Enoch wants to make sure. The teenagers have noticed that Ethan and Alma have been very careful with predictions and avoided any plans for the future so far.

"Yes, Enoch," Ethan answers. "With the first three month of the pregnancy it's the end of the most critical phase and we're very optimistic now, that it's going to be a healthy little child."

"It will be!" Horace suddenly joins the conversation. All the children and adults turn their heads towards him.

"How do you know?" Millard says.

"Have you dreamt about it?" Fiona asks interested.

Horace nods enthusiastically.

"You did?" Miss Peregrine asks as well.

Yes, a few days ago and also last night", Horace confirms again.

Ethan is amazed, he knows what Horace's peculiarity is but he has never come in contact with it.

"And you're sure that you saw the baby?" Ethan wants to make sure.

"I think so," Horace shrugs. "I saw you two in Miss Peregrine's room with the baby in your arms and you were standing in front of a baby bed, so I guess it was your child."

"It sounds plausible," Emma confirms and also the other children nod.

"That means that it's going to be healthy when it's born, right?" Fiona says happily and looks back at her ymbryne.

"Horace is right most of the time and to be honest, it is comforting to know that," Miss Peregrine says.

"And, was it a boy or a girl?" Bronwyn wants to know.

"Oh yes, that would be great to know," Fiona agrees.

"I'm not sure, but it was wearing red clothes, so I would think it was a girl," Horace explains.

"That's great," Claire says. "It means, that she can wear the dress."

Miss Peregrine and Ethan have to smile.

"That would be lovely," he says, while imagining having a daughter.

"That means that we can plan everything better now," Emma points out. "You can buy clothes and decorate a room or buy other things."

"That's right, Emma, it makes things a lot easier," Miss Peregrine answers.

After the dinner, Miss Peregrine and Ethan clean up everything while the children go get ready for bed before they watch a movie again.

Later in the evening as the children go to bed, Ethan and Alma stay seated on the couch.

"Alma, do you think that Horace is right?" Ethan wants to know her opinion.

Miss Peregrine shrugs. "He's right most of the time. In fact, I don't know an example for when he wasn't. But he doesn't tell me about all his dreams."

"What do you think about it?"

"You mean that it's supposed to be a girl?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have brought up a lot of children, boys and girls and I like both," Alma answers honestly.

"Yes of course," Ethan says. "I would love the idea of having a daughter though, I guess it's every man's dream, having a little princess. " Ethan has to smile. "But I'm only happy to know that it seems tol be healthy and that's enough."

"Yes, me too," Alma answers and leans into Ethan's arm.

"Do you think we can tell others now?" she wants to know.

"I think so, yes. And even if Horace hadn't told us. Catherine said that the child is healthy, so there's no reason to keep it a secret anymore," Ethan answers.

Miss Peregrine thinks about it.

"What are you thinking?" Ethan asks.

"I thought that I should talk to Miss Avocet first."

Nervously, Alma fumbles with the hem of her blouse.

"What is it?"

"I don't know... I'm not sure how she will react," Alma admits.

"Really?" Ethan asks unbelievingly. "I got to know her as a really friendly as well as motherly woman. Why shouldn't she be happy about it?"

"I don't know. Ymbrynes aren't supposed to have children of their own, they have to care for all the other children. And as far as I know, no other ymbryne has been pregnant before."

"Even more reason to be happy about it, don't you think?"

"Maybe," Alma mumbles.

"Just call her tomorrow and you will see," Ethan encourages her.

For some time the couple stays silent until Miss Peregrine looks up again.

"Who do you want to tell first?" she asks curiously.

" I will have to tell my whole family but I guess I'll start with my mother," Ethan answers and has to laugh as he thinks about his mother's reaction.

"I think she has given up on the idea of me having children some time ago," he jokes and makes Alma laugh too.

"Then she will be really happy about the news," Alma says.

"I think so too, yes. And my siblings will be glad too, as well as my nephews and nieces. They have always been excited when a new child was born into our family."

"You have an adorable family," Alma says thoughtfully. She has never known such a life. Of course her ymbryne sisters and all the children feel like a family to her too. But it's not the same. And her own brothers are not even worth talking about.

"Yes and it's your family too now, as well as your children feel like mine now," Ethan says and gives Alma a kiss on her forehead.

"Yes, they love you and you're the closest thing to a father that they know," Alma assures him.

Ethan smiles happily but doesn't say anything, sipping at his wine.

"Are you calling your mother as well tomorrow?" Alma wants to know.

Ethan thinks about it and nods. "Yes, I think so. Why wait any longer," he laughs.

"But what's more important is what we're going to do now," Ethan continues.

"Now as we know that it's going to be a little girl, we can start buying things, Emma was right. And with you in the second trimester it's also time to plan all the other things."

Curiously, Alma looks up at Ethan.

"What do you mean?" Alma asks as this is all still new to her.

"For example looking for a place for the antenatal classes and thinking about the hospital you want to give birth in. And more importantly, what are we going to do after the birth. I mean it's no solution like we're living now. I can't keep living at two places and I want to be with you and our child. Besides, here in the house is no room for a nursery and we can't keep sleeping in your small room forever, especially not with a baby too," Ethan lists all the things that come to his mind first."

"That's a lot," Alma sighs. "I know that I'll have to find a new house soon, but so far I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was so tired all the time."

"I know," Ethan says immediately. "It wasn't supposed to sound like an accusation. But I don't think that you should go through so much trouble. Millard was right, why don't you even consider moving in with me. My house is big enough and we would have a lot more time together. Besides, I think a family should live together, especially with a baby, don't you think?" Ethan wants to know.

"You're right, it will be a lot easier when we live together but I wouldn't have asked you to host us all. My children can be so much trouble and I would think that some time on your own does you good now and then."

"Oh, Alma," Ethan laughs. "You and your children are my family now and I want to spend as much time as possible with you all. It would be no trouble living with you, just a pleasure and I'm already looking forward to it!"

Alma has to smile.

"So is it a done deal then, Are you moving into my house when the baby is born?"

"Alright," Miss Peregrine says. "As soon as Jake's parents return. They have been so kind to let us stay here that we at least owe them to look after the house until they return."

"Of course!" Ethan answers.

"And then we'll have to do a lot of work here as well as in your house. We have to leave everything here as it was when we came. And in your house we will have to furnish a few rooms for the children. I know that your house is big, but do you have enough rooms for so many?"

"I think we'll manage," Ethan laughs. "You've been living in this house for a year and it's a lot smaller than mine."

"That's right, of course," Alma has to admit.

"And don't worry about the work, me and the boys will manage," Ethan assures her.

"I bet they will be happy about it," Miss Peregrine laughs.

"Trust me, I have my ways," Ethan says and stands up to tidy up the room. Smiling, Miss Peregrine helps him before they go to bed.


	39. Chapter 18 Part II

**Chapter 18**

 **Part II**

The next morning, Miss Peregrine wakes up early. She feels a bit nervous as she has planned to call Miss Avocet today. Therefore she decides not to go to the yoga training and after the children and Ethan have left, she stays in her room.

She sits down at her desk and dials Miss Avocet's number. Quickly someone answers the phone but unfortunately it's not Miss Avocet herself. It's a young ymbryne who's in training with her and she says that Miss Avocet has gone for a flight but she will call back as soon as she returns. Reluctantly, Miss Peregrine accepts the offer and hangs up again.

To use the time usefully as well as distract herself, Alma decides to do the laundry.

Half an hour later the phone rings and Miss Peregrine hurries back into her room.

Luckily it's Miss Avocet this time. Of course she wants to know why Miss Peregrine called but as Alma fabricates a reason, Miss Avocet is satisfied and keeps talking about Lupina and the other children before asking Alma how she's feeling after her illness. After they have talked for nearly half an hour, Miss Peregrine can't take the tension anymore.

"I'm pregnant!" she blurts out while Miss Avocet was just talking about something else.

A short silence on the other end of the line. Then she hears an exclamation of joy.

"Really? Alma, that's wonderful, what great news," Miss Avocet says.

"I've known from the beginning that Ethan is the right one for you. How long do you know already?"

"Thank you," Miss Peregrine says. "We've already known for a couple of weeks but we decided not to tell anyone in case something happens."

"Of course," Miss Avocet answers immediately. "But it's great nonetheless! I'm so proud of you! As far as I know, you're the first ymbryne who's going to have a child of their own. At least you're the first one of all ymbryne's I've trained."

By now Miss Peregrine feels relieved and happy about the reaction of the woman she sees as a kind of mother. But her thoughts are interrupted as she hears some children on the other end.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Alma, but the children are calling me, I have to go. But be sure, I feel so happy for you all. Please keep me posted about everything."

"Of course!" Miss Peregrine answers. "And don't worry, we've already talked enough, just go and have a look what the children want," Alma encourages her.

"Ok, I will. We'll talk soon!" And then Miss Avocet hangs up.

Relieved and happy, Miss Peregrine stands up from her desk. This went better than she had thought. The yoga class has already started by now but Miss Peregrine decides to at least go to the swimming pool as there's still time till the children return.

Miss Peregrine wants to do everything right and Ethan as well as Catherine have said that a bit of exercise will be good for her and the child. She still feels a bit tired and would also love to lie down until she has to prepare lunch. But she thinks that there will be enough time in the future to do that, when she really needs it.

In the afternoon all the children and Miss Peregrine want to have cake together. After Miss Peregrine went swimming, she has also done the grocery shopping and baked a cake at home.

The children always love it when she bakes and are already gathering in the living room. As Emma is setting the table and Olive is preparing some tea, coffee and hot chocolate the doorbell rings.

"Shall I answer that?" Emma asks her ymbryne, who's just carrying the cake towards the table.

"No, no, I will do that," Miss Peregrine replies.

"Do you know who it is?" Emma wants to know.

"No, I've got no idea. It can't be Ethan as he's working late today. Has anyone of you invited friends over?"

Most of the children shake their heads, so Miss Peregrine gives Emma the cake and goes over to the door. The children can't see who it is from where they are but they see their ymbryne holding her hand in front of her mouth in shock and then she leans forward to embrace the visitor in a tight hug.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?" Miss Peregrine says surprised.

"I just had to see you after this morning and I felt so sorry to end the call so abruptly," Miss Avocet explains her unexpected visit.

"Oh look at you, girl, you're so beautiful and you're glowing," she adds and grabs both of Miss Peregrine's shoulders to take a good look at her.

"Thank you! Come in!" Miss Peregrine says and steps aside to let her enter. Now all the children can see who has visited them.

"Miss Avocet!" they exclaim and smile at the older ymbryne.

"Hello children!" she greets them all, winking at them.

"You're just in time for cake and coffee," Miss Peregrine lets her know while steering her towards the coatrack, where the older ymbryne can leave her jacket.

"I wanted to congratulate you in person," Miss Avocet smiles and hugs Alma again. Then, after she has hung up her jacket, she rummages in her handbag just to pull out a small piece of colourful fabric.

"I always wanted to give it to you one day and now that you're pregnant it's the perfect moment," Miss Avocet explains and gives it to Alma, who unfolds it.

"I remember that," she says smiling at her former ymbryne. "I always loved this jacket."

"I know and it was the jacket you were wearing as you first came to my loop. It may not fit your child for some years but it will eventually," Miss Avocet says and winks at Miss Peregrine.

"Oh, thank you! You don't know how much this means to me," Alma answers and hugs her.

"I've got a fair idea, my girl," Miss Avocet says after they've parted again.

Miss Peregrine looks at the ground, not knowing what else to say. But Miss Avocet seems to know exactly that something's up.

"What is it my dear?" she asks and lifts Miss Peregrine's chin. Miss Peregrine just shrugs.

"Part of the reason why I came on such short notice was that I got the impression that I'm happier than you," Miss Avocet points out. "I think we should have a little talk, don't you?"

Miss Peregrine nods and together they walk over to the couches in the living room.

"Aren't you coming to eat with us?" Claire asks from the table.

"We're really hungry already?" Hugh adds.

"We will be with you shortly but you can already start if you want," Miss Peregrine says in her soft voice and with a warm smile.

Immediately all the children start fighting over the cake.

Chuckling, Miss Peregrine sits down next to Miss Avocet.

"Don't you want to tell me what's bothering you? Is everything alright with the child?" Miss Avocet asks so quietly that the children can't hear them.

"No, everything is alright so far," Miss Peregrine answers.

"But?" Miss Avocets keeps asking.

"I don't know..." is all that Miss Peregrine answers while looking back at her children, who are laughing loudly at the table.

"You're afraid that a child of your own will change your relationship with your other children?" Miss Avocet guesses and Alma looks up in surprise.

 _How does Miss Avocet know her so well?_

"Alma that's nonsense! You love your children like they were your own."

"Yes, of course I do! But I fear that the children will feel neglected nonetheless. A young child will need so much more attention than they do and with time they might accuse me of favouritism."

"I'm sure they won't!" Miss Avocet retorts. "They are all pretty mature and know how much work a baby is. Besides, you would have taken care of Lupina without thinking about such things and she needs more attention as well. Besides, as I understood, all the children loved her and it will be the same with your child."

"And if it won't?" Miss Peregrine asks back. "It's not really the same as Lupina was just another adopted child instead of my own. This child will have my name and it will call us Mum and Dad and there are all these little differences that may evoke jealousy."

"I don't think so, Alma. I think you're the most caring ymbryne I've ever trained. And your children love you, they have been living with you for so long and they know you better than anyone. Just talk to them about your worries and tell them how you feel about them and the child."

"Alright," Alma says defeated. It seems like Miss Avocet is right and the only way is to talk to her children about it all.

"Then let's have cake now," Miss Avocet says and stands up from the couch to join the children.

Together they enjoy the delicious cake and talk a lot until Miss Peregrine has regained her good mood. All the children are really interested about everything Miss Avocet has to say.

"How did you even get here?" Millard wants to know. "The next loop is miles away!"

"You're right, Millard, like always!" Miss Avocet answers. "I used the Panloopticon to get to the next loop and then I flew to the next train station and took the fastest train to get here."

"And when do you need to go back? It's still dangerous for you to be out of a loop for too long," Hugh says.

"That's right. But only if I stay away for longer. A few hours and even one or two days are completely fine. How should we find and get all the new peculiar children if we couldn't leave a loop?" Miss Avocet explains.

"Oh, yes, that sounds plausible," Hugh has to admit.

"So you can stay over night?" Claire asks enthusiastically and all the children cheer. They have always loved Miss Avocet's visits on Cairnholm. Unfortunately they haven't seen her since they moved to Florida and have really missed her.

"Children, children," Miss Peregrine makes them calm down again.

"Miss Avocet has a children's home of her own and I bet her children already miss her."

Most of the children look disappointed.

"Oh, children, don't worry! If it's alright with Miss Peregrine I will stay for the night and return tomorrow morning," Miss Avocet says and looks at Miss Peregrine.

"Are you sure that it's alright?" Alma asks back.

"Yes, of course. As you know I've got a new ymbryne in training and she will care for all the children until I'm back. It's a good exercise for her to take over the whole responsibility. Unless it's too much trouble for you."

"No of course not," Miss Peregrine answers. I would love you to stay for the night as well as the children."

The rest of the afternoon, the children spend with Miss Avocet. They show her around the house and the garden before playing with her.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine is in the kitchen to cook a big meal. As an ymbryne herself, Miss Avocet has to cook every day for her children and Alma wants her to sit down at a table and enjoy some delicious food without having to do something for it.

While they all eat and talk some more, Ethan returns from work.

"Oh a visitor," he says as soon as he sees Miss Avocet.

Immediately he walks over and greets her, happy to meet her for the second time. Because he's confused about how she got here as they had to meet her near the loop entrance the last time, she explains it once more as well as reminding him that it wouldn't have been possible to fly with Lupina.

"Wow, it's great that something like that is possible. I bet Alma will be really happy when you can visit her from time to time," Ethan says and sits down next to Miss Avocet, who nods smiling.

Then Ethan turns to Miss Peregrine.

"And guess who will be our next surprise visitor?" he says and looks at her challenging.

"I've got no idea," she shrugs.

"My mother," Ethan laughs. "It was also her first thought as I told her this morning."

"Oh, that's lovely, I'd love to meet her again," Alma says.

"She's still on holiday and will be coming afterwards, in three weeks. Let's see how you think about it after her visit," Ethan laughs while filling his plate with the delicious food. Miss Peregrine cooks always good but this time it's even better.

"Is your mother so bad?" Millard asks curiously.

"No and don't get me wrong, I love her. But it's not always easy when she wants to educate you even if you're an adult," Ethan answers winking at the children.

"It's a bit like our everyday life," Hugh adds smirking. "In reality we're even older than you are and Miss Peregrine is still treating us like kids."

Most of the children have to laugh or at least smile secretly. Ethan also hides a smirk while Miss Peregrine glares at Hugh.

"That's because you are children and under the care of an ymbryne," Miss Avocet ends the discussion.

After dinner, the children get ready for bed and prepare everything for the movie they want to watch with Miss Avocet. Miss Avocet is just calling her children's home to see if everything is alright, while Ethan and Alma prepare a bed for her. She has offered to sleep on the couch but Miss Peregrine insisted that she takes a bed of her children and Emma was only too happy to give up hers.

The next morning, Ethan and Alma get up early. The children have to go to school and Miss Avocet needs to get her train. Ethan still lies in bed and watches Alma as she's getting ready for the day. He's still tired as he hasn't got much sleep. After the movie the both of them talked for half of the night. About Miss Avocet's visit and Ethan's mother. Alma has taken Miss Avocet's advice and started by talking to Ethan about her worries. Of course he understood her but told her nonetheless that they both will do everything so that no child feels neglected. Again he assures her that he loves all the children like they were his own and that it won't change when the baby will be there. Afterwards they talked about their plans for the future again. Ethan has offered to register Alma and himself for an antenatal class where she's already going to the yoga classes.

"Oh, these damn trousers," Alma curses while getting dressed, or at least trying to.

"Someone needs to go shopping soon," Ethan jokes and tries to hide his smirk.

"That's not funny" Alma glares at him. "I've already tried 3 pairs of trousers this morning and I couldn't button any of them without feeling really uncomfortable."

"That's exactly what I meant," Ethan laughs again.

"And what am I supposed to do now?"

"You surely have a dress that still fits don't you?" Ethan suggests.

"Probably," Alma answers reluctantly and goes back to her wardrobe to search again.

As she's finally found something to wear, both adults go into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Soon Miss Avocet joins them.

Quickly the children say goodbye after the breakfast, one after another hugging the older ymbryne, before they all have to go.

Miss Peregrine accompanies Ethan and Miss Avocet to say goodbye to her at the train station. Already in the car she gets a bit emotional but soon regains control. But in front of the train as they hug each other for the second time, a few tears escape her eyes.

"Thank you for your visit," she says. "It meant a lot to me. I really miss meeting you all regularly like before."

"Oh, girl," Miss Avocet says and cups Alma's face with both her hands. "You know that you can always come and visit as well as asking me to come, whenever you feel like it. And as I'm not the only ymbryne in my loop anymore, I will be able to visit you more often from now on. So when you will need help, maybe during the pregnancy or after the birth, don't hesitate to ask, alright?"

Miss Peregrine wipes away her tears and nods smiling.

"Thank you, I will," she answers. Then she hugs Miss Avocet one last time before she has to enter the train. Miss Avocet stays at the door and waves through the window while the train starts moving until both women can't see each other anymore.

Ethan, who has been watching them from the distance approaches Alma and together they go back to the car. As she has decided to go swimming again, Ethan drops her at the swimming pool before driving to his office.

On her way home, Miss Peregrine passes once more the little store with the baby clothes. And again she can't resist and just has to enter and browse through everything. In the end she leaves with another two dresses in pink and white, which is a huge achievement as she would have loved to buy a lot more.

In the evening, during dinner, she shows them to the children and Ethan. All the girls marvel at the elegancy of the baby clothes and want to take a closer look while Ethan teases Alma for not being able to pass the store without buying anything and the boys on the other end of the table are whispering.

"Horace, you have to tell them," Fiona suddenly says a bit louder and Miss Peregrine looks up immediately.

"What? Tell whom?" she asks them.

As Horace doesn't seem to answer Fiona cuts in again.

"Horace had another dream," she explains.

Alarmed, Miss Peregrine looks back at Ethan. _What if it's something bad?_

Ethan takes her hand for reassurance and Alma looks back at the children.

"Horace, you can tell us everything, you know that, right?" she addresses him directly.

Horace nods shyly but doesn't look up.

"I dreamt of the child again," he confesses quietly.

"And?" Ethan asks.

"This time it seemed to be a boy, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean..."

All the children start laughing.

"Really?" Emma asks.

Also Miss Peregrine and Ethan have to laugh.

"Next time we'll better wait until we know for sure before we buy something, alright Alma?" Ethan teases her again.

"That would be better, yes," Alma laughs. "But at a pinch I can still clothe a boy with these dresses. No one would be able to see the difference at that age anyway."

"You wouldn't," Ethan looks back in shock.

Alma arches her eyebrows. "How do you know?" she asks challengingly and for a short moment they are looking into each other's eyes and no one dares to say something, waiting for where this discussion goes.

"Because I wouldn't let you," Ethan exclaims eventually before jumping to his feet and starting a tickle attack on Alma. Miss Peregrine shrieks and tries to flee. Ethan chases her towards the couches shouting at the boys for help, to defend their male dignity.

"Girls?! " Miss Peregrine cries, half laughing and totally out of breath.

Soon all the children and the adults are fighting each other on the couches. As Ethan and Alma call a truce, they all fall back into the pillows - completely breathless but really happy.


	40. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

A few children yawn, in the background there's some music playing.

It's a Saturday afternoon in the middle of February and Miss Peregrine and the children use the time to relax a bit. They have already fulfilled all their duties in the morning and outside it's raining again.

Miss Peregrine is lying on the couch, her children spread all over the living room. Some of them are lying on the other two couches, reading or daydreaming, a few others are sitting on the floor, playing board games. Horace has just stopped playing a bit on the piano and has turned on the CD-player again. Claire, Bronwyn and the twins are playing with their dolls and knights on the carpet behind the couch. They used to have lots of fun with it, the knights protecting the princesses. But since Claire and Bronwyn have started seeing their dolls as their babies, they have to care for, the knights don't really fit into it anymore and the four of them fight regularly about it as the twins can't understand why they are not allowed to join their game anymore.

As Claire gets annoyed and bored with the rest of them, she abandons her doll and jumps on the couch to sit next to Miss Peregrine.

"Miss P?" she asks in her sweetest voice. "When will the baby finally be here? Pretending that the dolls are babies is starting to get boring."

Miss Peregrine as well as Emma who has heard it, too, start laughing.

Confused, Claire looks at her ymbryne.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Miss Peregrine answers. "But it won't be here until late summer, which is still a very long time."

"Oh," Claire says and looks down in disappointment. "But why does it take so long?"

"It has to grow first, to be able to live on its own," Miss Peregrine explains. "You see, it's still this little," she says and shows with her index finger and thumb the length of about 8 centimetres.

"Ah, ok and that's why your tummy still isn't so big," Claire concludes.

"That's right," Miss Peregrine confirms.

"Can I see it anyway?" Claire begs.

"Of course Miss Peregrine answers and lifts her shirt a bit for Claire to take a look at her slowly forming baby bump.

By now a few other children have listened to their conversation and come gathering around Claire and Miss Peregrine. They, too, haven't seen her baby bump without clothes yet.

Of course they have all known about the pregnancy and have seen how it has changed and affected their ymbryne during the last three and a half months. But with the adults not talking too much about it, or at least not with the children, as they didn't want them to get their hopes up so early, it wasn't much of a topic for them all in their everyday life.

"Can I touch it as well?" Claire asks carefully and Miss Peregrine nods. "But I'm afraid that there's not much to feel at the moment," she says while gently taking Claire's hand and placing it on her lower abdomen. "It just feels a bit harder than a tummy normally does."

Claire nods thoughtfully.

"But If you wait another 2 months you'll probably be able to feel the child move," Miss Peregrine says, which makes Claire look up smiling.

"That's so cool," Fiona says. "Will you let us feel it as soon as it happens?"

"Oh yes, Miss P., please," some of the other children beg. The little ones, Fiona, Millard and Hugh are standing around the couch while Emma and Olive look at them from their places and the rest of the boys, sitting on the ground, just lift their heads a bit, only to see what's going on.

"I will," Miss Peregrine assures them smiling. She's really happy about her children's enthusiasm about it all but still fears that it might change in the future.

Thoughtfully, Miss Peregrine pulls her shirt back down after Claire has removed her hand and sits up.

"We've never talked about it all, children," she begins. "I mean not really. We've told you about the pregnancy and you've asked a few questions but nothing more. We've never asked you all what you think about it.

"What do you mean?" Fiona asks confused.

"I mean what are your thoughts about us having a child. What are you or are you not looking forward to and what are you afraid of?" Miss Peregrine explains her question.

"I don't understand," Millard says. "Why should we be afraid?"

"Yes, Miss P. A little baby is so cute. Why should we not be looking forward to it?" Bronwyn points out.

"Maybe because a little baby can make lots of noise, especially at night and some of them never stop crying," Enoch points out, making an annoyed grimace at the same time.

"For example," Miss Peregrine says. "Of course it's something wonderful but there are also some downsides. "

"But we can use earplugs, so that we won't hear it during the night," Fiona says and looks at Enoch in annoyance.

"But a newborn is still lots of work and takes a lot of energy. Especially in the beginning it will be pretty hard and it will take a few months until I'll get a few hours of sleep in a row again," Miss Peregrine starts explaining her worries. She wants the children to know what will happen after the birth and not being disappointed when it's so much different from what they have imagined it to be.

"But we will try to help you as much as possible," Olive assures her ymbryne and the other children agree as well.

Of course the teenagers know what it means to have a newborn living with them. And they are well aware that it will be very hard for Miss Peregrine in addition to her usual duties. Not without reason had she given Lupina to Miss Avocet and a baby will be even more extra work.

"That's very kind of you," Miss Peregrine says touched. She can already feel some tears forming in her eyes again, which makes her laugh about her new ridiculously emotional side.

"But I don't want you to do even more than you already do. You still have your own life," Miss Peregrine argues. "And I'm afraid that I will be even more difficult and hard on you when I don't get any sleep or that I don't have enough time for everything."

Slowly, Emma starts to get what this is all about. She gets up from her place on the couch and walks over to sit on the edge of the couch, next to her ymbryne.

"Are you worried that we might feel neglected?" she asks directly.

Surprised, Miss Peregrine turns her head and looks at her oldest girl. She has always known her the best and seems to be able to read her thoughts.

"Maybe," Miss Peregrine admits shyly. "I will have to take care of the baby the whole day and I fear that there won't be much time left sometimes."

"But that's just normal," Olive answers.

"Yes, it wouldn't have been different with Lupina and we all loved her," Jake says.

"Yes, but..." Miss Peregrine begins but doesn't know how to continue.

Again, Emma already knows what she was about to say.

"You think that it will be different for us because it's your own child?" she guesses.

"Will you love it more than us?" Claire asks shocked, as she has only now understood what the older ones are talking about.

"No, of course not!" Miss Peregrine exclaims. "I love you all as if you were my real children, don't you know that?"

"Of course we do," Olive assures her and the rest of the children nod.

"But yes, Emma that's what I fear the most. I mean it might look like it as I will be with the child the whole day and night and sometimes I won't be able to be there for you like I used to. I want you to understand that," Miss Peregrine says insistently.

"We do, Miss P.," Emma assures her and strokes her ymbryne's back who is fighting hard to hold her tears back once more.

By now Enoch, Jake and Horace have stood up as well and approach the group.

"You've always been there for all of us, especially in the beginning, as we came to you. We'll understand that you need to be there for the baby more than for us even if you love us the same," Olive says.

"It's a bit like when Claire came to us, so it's not even something new," Fiona adds.

"Exactly," Emma agrees.

"And this time you don't even have to keep the baby away from me, as I've long learned to keep my bees under control," Hugh points out proudly.

"That's right," Miss Peregrine smiles.

"Wasn't Hugh allowed to stay with me when I was little?" Claire asks interested.

"No, my dear, not in the beginning," Miss Peregrine explains. "He has just come to me himself and couldn't control his bees. They were constantly stinging us if we weren't careful enough and I couldn't risk that with you."

Claire has to smile about the protective side of her ymbryne.

"As long as I can still get my sleep, I'm totally fine with as many children as you want," Horace tells Miss Peregrine and winks at her.

"That should be arranged, somehow," she laughs and ruffles Horace's hair playfully.

"I've always wanted to have a little sister," Claire cuts in again. "So why would I be jealous. I'd love to help with everything and play with her."

"As long as it is a girl," Millard whispers half laughing and punches Horace gently, who's immediately turning red in shame.

Miss Peregrine wipes away the few tears that have made their way down her cheeks and smiles.

"I love you," she states and tries to hug as many children as she can embrace.

"We love you, too," some of them answer.

"We will try to help you as much as possible," Jake says.

"Yes and we'll try to be understanding, no matter what mood you're in," Enoch says smirking, which makes Miss Peregrine laugh.

"I'll try my best not to let anything out on you," she says, having finally regained her composure.

"And now I'll go and cook us something nice for dinner, alright?" she asks while standing up.

"Oh yes, can we have fish fingers?" Bronwyn asks enthusiastically.

"I think we might still have a few in the freezer," Miss Peregrine thinks about it.

"With salad?" Fiona begs.

"And fries," Millard adds.

"We can," Miss Peregrine laughs and walks off into the kitchen to start preparing a perfect meal for her perfect children. They are so understanding and selfless that she just feels so blessed to have them and couldn't wish for any better children.


	41. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Why can't we stay in bed like this forever?" Ethan sighs and Alma has to laugh.

It's early Sunday morning and Alma and Ethan are lying in bed together. Ethan's mother is visiting today and while Alma looks forward to it and wants to start with all the preparations, Ethan doesn't want this day to begin.

"Come on," Miss Peregrine says. "I'm sure that it's going to be lovely."

"That's because she's not your mother," Ethan keeps complaining.

"It can't be that bad and usually you don't make such a big deal of it. A few weeks ago, before Christmas, you didn't seem so unhappy with your family meeting."

"Yes but only because we were at Mary's and when we're all together, my mother is easier and complains about the others as much as me, it's not so annoying then. When she's only visiting me she always has something to complain about and keeps turning my household upside down." Ethan explains.

"Oh Ethan, I'm sure you're exaggerating," Alma laughs and turns around to kiss him.

"Maybe," Ethan admits and takes a deep breath. "You're probably right and I'm playing it all up today. She sounded quite relaxed and really delighted about the news, so let's hope that it will make her less strict with me," Ethan now laughs too and turns to the side to look at Alma. His left hand wanders lower to caress her baby bump. During the last weeks it has grown enormously so by now you can really see her pregnancy. Alma has told him some days ago that she thought she could feel the first movements of the baby, but so far it wasn't strong enough for Ethan to feel it too.

Suddenly, Alma sits up quickly to get ready. Ethan admires her for her energy. He thinks that he couldn't move like that with such a belly.

"Can't we stay in bed just a little while longer?" he begs while Miss Peregrine puts on a pair of trousers.

Last week Ethan has taken Alma to go shopping maternity clothes and now she has a few pairs of trousers, some shirts, a nursing bra and two dresses.

"Unfortunately not, we have a lot to do until your mother arrives," Alma laughs and walks back to the bed. Kissing Ethan she pulls away the blanket to make him get up.

Reluctantly, Ethan leaves the bed and hugs Alma from behind. Both of them have placed their hands on the baby bump. They enjoy these little moments together with their unborn child. At the moment Alma can really enjoy the pregnancy as well. All the discomforts of the first trimester are now gone and the baby bump is not too big so it doesn't have a big impact on her daily life yet.

During the forenoon, everyone is really busy. Ethan has gone home to prepare everything for the visit of his mother and Alma and the children are cleaning up their house. The children are supposed to clear away their toys from the living room as well as tidying their own rooms, while Miss Peregrine and the teenagers clean the rest.

During lunchtime Ethan has to pick up his mother from the train station. Afterwards he has planned to go for a walk with her. Of course she wants to see Alma and the children immediately but Ethan thinks it wise to talk to her first. He just wants to warn her or rather tell her about Millard and the twins, that she shouldn't feel uncomfortable around them and should just treat them like all the other children.

In the early afternoon they arrive at the house of Jake's parents.

Happily they all greet each other. Of course they had met at Ethan's birthday but as there were so many people not all the children got to properly meet Ethan's mother.

"Lovely to see you again, Alma," she says while finally hugging Miss Peregrine.

"I'm happy about your visit as well, Olivia," Alma answers.

"And look at you," Ethan's mother says and inspects Miss Peregrine's baby bump.

Shyly Alma smiles and looks at Ethan. She's still not used to so much attention, which she now attracts.

"Come in," she then says and all of them go into the living room.

Ethan's mother has brought some sweets and presents for the children, which she gives to them, while Alma and Ethan prepare the table to have cake and coffee.

Very soon Olivia feels like all these children are her family now, which in fact they kind of are. She loves the thought of her boy having such a big family with the woman he loves.

And also the children seem to adore her. She's funny and relaxed and knows a lot about what children like. Probably it comes with bringing up 4 children and having a few grandchildren. For the little ones she even feels like the grandmother they never had.

For Ethan and Alma or rather the baby, Olivia has brought a baby blanket, that she has knitted herself. Alma feels really touched and thanks her multiple times. She used to knit herself but during the last years she hasn't had the time any more. But this is such a lovely gift and is really handy when you have little children.

The girls seem pretty interested in it, so Olivia promises to teach them soon.

After eating the cake together, Olivia goes to play with the children outside. For her age she's really fit, so she plays football with them and even climbs up into their little tree house as Bronwyn and Claire wanted to show it to her.

Meanwhile Ethan and Alma can spend more time alone, which they really enjoy. They both love the children but a couple also needs some time on their own and they want to make the most of it until the baby will be there.

They are lying on the couch, Alma in Ethan's arm. Alma teases Ethan with how lovely his mother is so far and asks if he has changed his mind about it all. Then they talk about the upcoming months, what they need and want to do before the birth.

"Or before I'm ending up like a whale and don't feel like leaving the house anymore," Alma jokes.

"Hey, don't say something like that, you will look beautiful, like you do now," Ethan assures her.

"I'm already fat and that's not getting better," Alma laughs.

"That's not true," Ethan argues. "You're pregnant and not fat, which makes you even prettier in my eyes."

Then Ethan gives Alma another kiss and doesn't leave out the child as well.

"Something else...," he starts a new topic.

"I thought it would be nice to go on a holiday before the birth, what do you think?"

"Sounds good, but are you sure, that you want to go on a holiday with all of us?" Alma asks in surprise.

"Of course, why not?" Ethan retorts.

"Because it wouldn't really be a holiday for a start and then it will be quite expensive," Alma argues.

"Just getting away from everything here is a holiday and we don't have to stay in a five star hotel. And then it will be no problem. I mean I'm not working just for fun, so it's alright if we spend the money on something nice from time to time," Ethan insists.

"I'm pretty sure that we will need the money in the future," Alma says and lets her hand stroke her belly.

" We will have the money, also for the new child, I promise," Ethan assures her one last time, so Miss Peregrine relaxes.

"So? What about the holiday now?" Ethan asks again.

"I don't know," Alma shrugs. "I'm happy with just being around you and the children. What time are we talking about anyway?"

"I thought maybe during the Easter holidays?!" Ethan suggests.

"Alright. That's already next month? Do you think we will still find an accommodation?"

"We can still try. Just tell me where you want to go and I can pull some strings," Ethan says winking at her.

"You really know everyone," Alma jokes shaking her head. "But again, I've got no idea, you should probably ask the children."

"I'd rather surprise them all. You must have some idea what they would like to do," Ethan animates Alma.

"Not more than you," she says and sticks out her tongue before thinking about it.

"Since you talked about it with them, they were really interested in the idea of doing this camping trip with bikes but I guess that's out of the question now," Alma says.

"Why ?" Ethan asks confused.

"Because of this?!" Alma retorts and points at her belly.

"That shouldn't keep you from doing what you would like to do," Ethan says seriously.

"Can you imagine me looking like a whale, riding a bike and sleeping in a tent for three weeks?" Alma asks laughing.

"I can, actually," Ethan answers honestly, so Alma looks back up at him in surprise.

"Are you serious?" she wants to know.

"Totally," Ethan confirms. "I had patients who came to my office by bike until just before the birth. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to force you to something that you don't feel comfortable with. I just don't want you to miss out on anything only because you think you should. There's no problem with doing everything the way you did it before the pregnancy as long as you feel good. Of course we can take precautions to make it as easy for you as possible, that's no problem, just say if you would like to do it?" Ethan says.

"I don't know," Alma admits. "I guess I still feel a bit insecure with everything. But if you say that it's alright..."

"It is but if you want we can also talk to Catherine about it," Ethan offers.

"We can do that but I trust you!" Alma assures him. "And if you say that it's fine we can do it. The children will really love it."

"I'm sure of it," Ethan answers, already imagining their reactions.

"And it doesn't have to be another uncomfortable camping trip," Ethan keeps explaining. " We will rent really big tents in which one can stand upright and you could sleep on a camp bed instead of just a camping mat. As for the bike, we could share a tandem bicycle, than you can take a break when you need it while we're still driving."

"Have you already planned everything?" Alma laughs.

"No, of course not, these ideas just came to me as I was thinking about such a trip," Ethan justifies.

"It's fine," Alma assures him. "They sound like really good ideas."

The rest of the afternoon, the children keep playing with Ethan's mother while Miss Peregrine and Ethan prepare dinner.

Olivia really praises Alma's cooking skills.

"Most of the young mothers today don't know how to cook at all and only let their children eat junk food," she complains. "I'm glad that you're different, especially because Ethan is helpless in the kitchen."

"It's not that bad," Alma defends him while Ethan rolls his eyes. After the children and his mother came back into the house she has eventually started lecturing her son whenever a good opportunity occurs.

"Anyway, I'm happy that you two have found each other and that you're starting a family of your own," Olivia saves the situation again.

After the meal, Ethan wants to drive his mother to his house and stay there with her for the night.

"The children need to go to bed as there's school tomorrow," he explains.

"But I'd rather stay here with you all," Olivia argues, looking at the children, who smile at her.

"And I'd like to help Alma tomorrow morning and during the day while you're working."

"But we've talked about it, mother," Ethan sighs. "Here's not enough room, we don't have one spare bed here."

"That's not a problem, I can sleep on the couch. I may be your mother but 66 years is not that old. You'd be surprised to know where I'm sleeping when I visit some of my friends."

"No way!" Alma cuts in. "If you want to sleep here, you're going to take a bed of the girls."

"You can have my bed," Emma says quickly, which earns her a punch from Olive under the table.

"Not again, it's my turn now," she whispers angrily but Emma just laughs in victory.

"I don't want to be a burden to anyone of you," Olivia keeps arguing.

"You're not," Alma assures her.

"Alright," Olivia sighs.

"Ok then you're sleeping in Emma's bed tonight," Miss Peregrine states and stands up to clear the table.

"But that's not fair," Olive and Enoch argue."Emma got to sleep with Jake when Miss Avocet slept here too."

"You're right, but I don't feel like discussing this now," Miss Peregrine says. "Can't you sort that out on your own?"

Immediately Olive and Emma start discussing the matter but in the end Emma gives up and lets Olive sleep in Enoch's bed for the night. After all it's just fair like this.

After Ethan has carried the suitcase of his mother from the car to the girls room and Alma has prepared the bed for her, they say goodnight to Olivia, tuck in the younger children and go to bed themselves.

The next morning, Olivia is already awake as Alma enters the kitchen. Both women prepare the breakfast together, while Ethan sets the table and helps the children with some small problems like finding a school book that's missing.

As they are all sitting at the table, Olivia can't help but tell her son that he should wear his beard and hair shorter. "What do your patients think when you come in looking like a caveman. Civilised people, which doctors should belong to, have to look clean and properly shaved."

The children have to laugh about this remark while Ethan shakes his head in annoyance.

"Yes mother," he just says and hopes that she would let it slip.

As the children have to leave for school, Olivia already cleans the table and the kitchen, even if Alma has reminded her a couple of times that she's only the guest and doesn't have to do anything.

But Olivia just tells her that they are family now and she always tries to help her children when she visits them. Furthermore, she has planned to help Alma cleaning the whole house until the children return. Olivia knows that all this housework will get quite hard for Alma in the future, so she wants to do as much as possible during her visit.

While they are cleaning all the windows, Olivia tells Alma once more how much she admires her and all the work she does , in the house and with her children.

Miss Peregrine tries to play it down but Olivia knows exactly how much work children can be, especially as teenagers.

"I'm really happy that Ethan has found you," she says once again. "He has always been the type of man who's perfectly for a big family but unfortunately he's never had a woman who wanted that too. And now he's got you and the children all at once and you're even getting another child of your own." Olivia adds that she of course knows that both of them love all the children like they were their own - and she does too - but nonetheless it's a wonderful feeling when you see the child growing up that you've conceived.

Later on they start cleaning all the rooms. Olivia tidies up and cleans everything while Miss Peregrine vacuums the floor.

Olivia tells her stories about Ethan and his siblings when they were younger and both women share their experiences with bringing up children.

In the middle of their talk Alma gets absent-minded, gazes into space and starts rubbing her belly.

"Braxton Hicks contractions?" Olivia asks as she notices it, which rips Alma out of her stupor.

"Pardon?" she asks and looks back at Olivia.

"I was just asking if you're having Braxton Hicks contractions?"

As Alma still looks confused and doesn't answer, Olivia puts her cleaning tools down and walks over to Alma.

"You're feeling something? What is it?" she asks.

"I don't know," Alma shrugs. "Something feels different but I couldn't say exactly what, it's not painful."

"May I?" Olivia asks and moves her hands to place them on Alma's baby bump as she nods her agreement.

"Yes, see," Olivia says. "You're abdomen is quite hard, can you feel it?" Olivia takes Alma's hand and shows her what she means.

"Yes," Alma answers worried.

"These are Braxton Hicks contractions and it's nothing to worry about. They start round about your fifth month of pregnancy and are preparing your body for the birth," Olivia explains while Alma nods.

"Some women feel them, some don't and especially in the beginning they are not intense. It can only get annoying, particularly when you want to rest or sleep. It always helps to drink something or change your position, like going for walk or lying down. And if nothing helps, a warm bath always does the trick, even when they can get painful later on" Olivia keeps informing Alma.

A bit intimidated Alma nods again.

"Don't worry, girl," Olivia laughs and strokes Alma's cheek. And as Alma sees her encouraging smile she just has to return it.

"Thank you! " she says grateful.

"Anytime, Alma," Olivia assures her. "Whenever you've got any questions, just talk to me." Winking at Alma she turns around and returns to her cleaning.

After they've finished and there's still a bit time left until the children come back, both women sit down on the couches and drink a cup of tea.

Alma thanks Olivia again, for her help and the tips. And once more Olivia assures her that she can come to her any time she feels insecure or something.

"The first pregnancy is never easy and naturally for a woman."

"Thank you and in fact there is something," Alma begins and has Olivia's full attention.

"Ethan and I thought that it would be nice to go on holiday with the kids before the child arrives," Alma explains. "And because the children wanted to do it for a long time, we want to go on a camping trip and drive around by bike next month. Ethan said that it would be alright if I don't feel uncomfortable with it, but I'm scared that it might get too much or that something happens."

Olivia nods in understanding while sipping at her tea.

"I understand what you mean," she says finally. "With my first pregnancy it was the same. You're always wondering if what you do might harm the child and everything. But I guess Ethan is right. Of course you shouldn't overdo it and rest when you feel like it but apart from that you can do anything you want. It's not necessary to lie down for the rest of the pregnancy. Quite the contrary even. The birth is really hard and you're body needs to be trained for it, when you only rest in the month before, it's a lot harder," Olivia explains.

"Okay, " Alma answers thoughtfully and finishes her tea, setting the empty cup on the small table in front of them.

"So if you and the child are healthy before the trip, I'm sure that nothing will happen. And going on a holiday is really good, especially during the pregnancy. Just getting away from your daily life and having time for yourself is quite helpful. "

Relieved Alma smiles at Olivia. "Thank you again," she says. Only today has this woman given her so much advise. For Alma it feels kind of strange. In reality she's so much older than this woman in front of her and she has much more experience in life but with these things she feels as helpless as a young woman.

The rest of the week, Olivia keeps helping Alma as much as she can and plays with the children during their free time. For Ethan and Alma it already feels like a holiday and they often spend some quality time together. They would go for a walk alone or just lie on the couch or in their bed. Ethan has started to massage and lotion the skin of Alma's belly to prevent stretch marks some weeks ago. Both of them enjoy these intimate and quiet moments and will surely miss it when Ethan's mother has left again.

On the last day of her visit, Alma has the next big pregnancy screening. Ethan goes with her while his mother takes the children for an ice cream in the city. Again everything is fine and Alma as well as the child seem healthy. Arriving back at home they have to hurry because Olivia needs to get her train soon. All of the children are sad to say her goodbye as they had a wonderful time with their new grandmother. Also Olivia and Alma and Ethan are a bit sad.

"But it's not goodbye forever," Olivia laughs to lighten the mood. " I can come again and you are all welcome at my house every time." She hugs all the children goodbye before going over to Alma.

"And you, remember to call me whenever you need help or advice. Don't hesitate, please. I know how hard things can get in the weeks before the birth. And when you need help with anything call me and I will come to help. The same goes for the time after the birth, alright?"

Grateful, Alma smiles and hugs her. "Thank you so much! I'm really happy to call you my family now," she says before Olivia has to leave as Ethan's already waiting in the car.

While Ethan drives her to the train station, Miss Peregrine plays with the children to distract them from the sudden emptiness at home, as Olivia has really created a light atmosphere in the house.

After Ethan returns, they all sit down together.

"We've got some news to tell you," Alma begins smiling, looking back at Ethan.

All the children look at them expectantly.

"We've decided to go on a holiday during the Easter holidays."

All children start cheering. They've never been on a real holiday and have been wishing for it for a long time.

"Where are we going?" Millard asks curiously.

"Are we going to stay in a hotel or rent a holiday apartment?" Fiona wants to know.

"Shush children, calm down," Miss Peregrine says lovingly and looks at Ethan so he continues.

"We thought we could do the camping trip we have been talking about," he says.

"The one with the bikes?" Hugh asks enthusiastically.

"Exactly," Miss Peregrine answers and has to smile about their children's reactions. They are all beaming and talking at the same time.

"That's great!" some of them exclaim.

"But are you sure?" Emma wants to know. "Isn't it a bit too exhausting for you?"

"Oh yes, of course," Olive cuts in.

"No, no," Alma assures them. "Ethan said that it's going to be alright, so I think we will have a great time together before everything might get a bit more difficult in the future."

The older children nod thoughtfully, they know that Miss Peregrine will need more help, before and after the birth. But for now they are just happy about the news.

For the rest of the day the children stay in such a good mood - having totally forgotten about Olivia's departure - and planning their big trip.


	42. Chapter 21 Part I

**Chapter 21**

 **Part I and II are rated M, just in case...**

"Come on, Jake, don't be so boring," Olive laughs as the other girls around her are giggling together.

"Leave him alone, Olive," Emma defends Jake. "He doesn't have to when he doesn't like it."

Emma leaves the group of young girls and goes over to Jake to kiss him.

The four teenagers are on an open-air festival with all their friends from school. To be honest, it's a kind of strange festival, not really their type of music and lots of people who take drugs - but it's the biggest event in town in this time of the year and everyone from school is always there as well.

Miss Peregrine wasn't too happy about it as they first asked her but with Ethan's influence it has gotten a lot easier to convince her. In the end they just had to promise not to take any drugs, to take care of each other and to be back around midnight.

"But please take warm clothes with you," was the last thing she demanded. "It's only February and can still be quite cold during the night."

Before the festival the four met up with a few girls and boys from school. One of them had his place all to himself as his parents were away, so he invited all of them over. Of course there was alcohol and some of the other teenagers are already a bit drunk but Emma, Olive, Enoch and Jake didn't drink much. They're still afraid of Miss Peregrine when it comes to this and besides they don't need alcohol to have fun. The girls shared a few drinks with their friends and the boys had one or two beers, so they feel a little bit tipsy but that's all.

Arriving at the festival, they were mesmerized and overwhelmed by the crowd that's already there. Outside it's dark and the lights could already be seen from far away - the same goes for the music. It's loud and a bit strange but adds to the magical atmosphere.

The cheerful group passed the entrance and started exploring their environment. For them all it's the first time that they are here, only one boy of them was already old enough last year.

In front of the stage where lot's of musicians will play tonight, there's a big tree, decorated with lots of neon lights in different colours, under which many young and old people are already dancing wildly. Most of them wear casual clothes and have a very alternative style. They are smiling and really enjoying themselves. Some of them have colourful make-up in their faces, that shines in the dark.

Behind the 'dance floor' there are a few bars and some free places where people are sitting on some blankets they've brought. On the right side of the area, there are wooden poles with lots of plain hammocks - just made of old nets - and a big swing made out of a couch, hung up by ropes.

"Oh, let's go there," one of the girls exclaimed and ran over to the place. As they were all holding hands, soon all the girls were running after her, so the boys didn't have another choice and had to follow.

Unfortunately the swing was occupied most of the time but the girls found free spaces on the hammocks.

After they've relaxed a bit and have explored everything around, they want to dance.

Now they are all mingling with the other dancers. Only Jake stays behind and wants to wait next to the dance floor. He's not much into dancing and is way to sober to do it now. Even if this is the kind of place where no one cares who's dancing and how.

Emma accepts it though and kisses him to let him know that she takes him the way he is. He just stays where he is and watches the others dancing together. The girls are really enjoying it and also the boys, including Enoch, are jumping to the rhythm of the music.

Meanwhile Jake meets a few other friends and talks to them. All of them seem to have access to alcohol the whole time and Jake has got no idea how they managed it. They must have connections. But soon he doesn't really care anymore as they also make Jake take a sip every time they pass.

As the others are exhausted from dancing so much, they return to Jake and go over to the bar to drink something before sitting down on the grass, watching as a new band is starting to play on stage.

The girls are giggling together and whispering something. A friend of Emma and Olive has seen her crush from school and they plan how she's going to win him over. As they leave to execute their plan, the boys are left alone. They organize a few beers and start assessing all the passing girls.

Soon Olive and Emma return again. At seeing what they are doing, they glare at them, which makes at least Jake and Enoch stand up immediately.

Suddenly a strange guy stops next to them to ask if they could use any drugs. While some of the other boys contemplate the idea, Emma and Jake glare at the man.

"Definitely not!" Enoch states and makes him go away. "And just don't come back."

"Hey, Enoch," one of the other boys says. "Maybe we wanted to buy something."

"You wouldn't want to try that, ever," Enoch says insistently. "It's way too dangerous!"

Reluctantly the boys nod and change the subject.

"Look," one girl exclaims. "The couch swing isn't occupied."

"Oh yes!" Emma shouts out. "Let's be quick before other people find it again."

As best as they can, the group makes their way through the crowds and reaches the swing just in time before some other girls arrive in front of it.

"Sorry, girls, but we were first," says Enoch and smirks, lifting Olive onto the couch. Disappointed the other teenagers leave again.

For a while they relax on the couch and watch the other people around them. It's an easy and happy atmosphere but in some people you can see the drug use. They are friendly and smiling, enjoying themselves, but their eyes are really wide, which makes them look rather creepy. Jake has even seen one guy, wearing a white mask, looking like from out of a horror movie.

Soon, Olive can convince Enoch to dance with her, what he seems to really enjoy this evening. The rest of the night they are barely leaving the dance floor. In the beginning, Emma joins them a lot but soon she gets a bit tired and rather sits down with Jake.

It's still a beautiful atmosphere, all the lights, the dark blue sky, slightly turquoise, and with some stars. Next to the fence, that surrounds the festival area, is a ramshackle building and a building crane, both illuminated, the white walls of the building even with colourful patterns and themes. Swinging together in one of the hammocks they both look into the sky and watch the lights. Emma feels really content, enjoying her time with Jake. Everything is swaying a bit, partly because of her tipsiness and partly because of the moving of the hammock, but it's still a pleasant feeling. She is feeling more tired by the minute and lying here doesn't help a lot but all in all she feels really comfortable. The music, echoing through the air keeps her in a party mood.

Soon though she starts feeling rather cold. She has once again returned from dancing with Olive and Enoch. As Olive's feeling really hot with the dancing as well as her peculiarity, she was only too happy to give Emma her little jacket, but even now Emma feels slightly cold.

She should probably dance more or drink some alcohol but both things don't really convince her. All she wants to do is lying with Jake in the hammock and enjoying the atmosphere. On the roof of the deserted building, a man - or woman, who can say the difference in the dark and distance - has started a show with a lightning stick. It looks amazing and reminds Emma of her time with the circus. Of course there come a lot of bad memories with it but in her current mood she's successful in only remembering the little good things.

With time, her eyelids start feeling very heavy but she forces herself to stay awake. Even if everything feels perfect right now, this is not the place to fall asleep. Therefore she struggles to get out of the net and stands up.

"I'm going to Olive, do you want to come with me this time?" she asks Jake. But he only shakes his head.

"I'm staying here and reserve this hammock for you, for when you'll come back," he says and winks at Emma.

"You're really sweet, Jake," Emma smiles and kisses him. Carefully she leans forward and places her lips on his. He tastes like beer and maybe other drinks, but Emma doesn't know for sure. Besides she's really distracted by struggling to stay upright and not to fall down to the ground and into Jake and the net.

"I'll be back soon," she promises before disappearing into the crowd.

"Please be careful!" Jake shouts after her. The people around have gotten more strange lately and you can see that the negative consequences of the drugs are slowly starting to replace the positive ones. They are behaving more aggressively and their eyes have gotten more prominent and scary. He's a bit afraid for Emma and thinks that with time it might get a bit unfriendly around here.

From his place, Jake can barely see the stage and most of the dance floor. He tries to look in between the people to maybe see Emma dancing with the others. Sometimes when the dancers stand just right he can see Olive's bright jacket, that's enveloping Emma's thin frame. Even seeing just her back from so far away, makes Jake feeling so in love and grateful to have this perfect girl as his girlfriend.

All that has happened in the last two years was so crazy and unbelievingly but the life he's living now is just perfect. Who would have thought that before the death of his grandfather, or as they were only trying to survive during their mission to save Miss Peregrine. And then in Devil's Acre , how many times have they thought that it would be their last day, that they're surely going to die. But they made it through everything, he and Emma, and it made their relationship strong. Even the time they were separated made no difference. The thoughts of Emma and her letters were the only thing that kept Jake alive during that time even as it was clear that he will be admitted to the psychiatry. Only the fact that he knew that Emma was real and that he had spend a wonderful time with her helped a lot. And then she was there, together with the rest. Finally his parents had to believe him and the best time of his life began.

Deep in thoughts, Jake jumps out of his skin as Emma suddenly falls into the hammock next to him.

"Hey, what were you thinking about?" she asks and smiles at him.

"Nothing," Jake assures her. "Just how happy I am right now."

"Me too," Emma agrees and leans back into his chest.

A couple of minutes later, Olive and Enoch join them. They are really out of breath and want to rest a little bit. Enoch goes off to get something to drink for them all.

As they've finished their drinks, they decide to go looking for their other friends. They have lost them some time ago, while dancing among another group of really drunk teenagers.

As they just can't find them, even not after running around, making a big round over the whole area for three times, they decide to sit down near the entrance on a small hill. There, they will be able to see everyone passing. It's not far away from the portable toilets and Emma's and Olive's friends have been needing the loo very often tonight, so they hope that they will come soon.

Olive and Enoch go for another round just in case the others are sitting somewhere in the corner, and promise to come back here again.

After they've sat down on the grass, Emma's tiredness returns in a big wave. She suddenly feels really tired and cold again. Leaning back on the grass, she looks at the sky once more. Again she thinks what it would be like to just fall asleep. It would be perfect to be in her own bed right now, but here it's not uncomfortable either. Besides there's the music and the great atmosphere that's a lot better than in her bed, even when she just wants to sleep.

This time, Emma decides to close her eyes for a while longer. There's still the fear that she can't control herself anymore and will really fall asleep on the spot, but it doesn't bother her as much as before. Of course there are some creepy people around and she doesn't want anyone touching her or stealing her belongings. But what can happen as long as she's next to Jake? He will surely take good care of her and Emma feels safe with him, trusting him with his life.

Feeling a slightly cold breeze but still the warmth of Jake's body and listening to the music, Emma slowly drifts off to sleep.


	43. Chapter 21 Part II

Chapter 21

Part II

The music keeps playing in Emma's ears and still in her dream.

At first she thinks she's back at the festival, the music is loud and everywhere are still young people running around. But it's much brighter and warmer. It's day and it must be something around summertime,they are not in the woods but somewhere near the beach. It smells of sea air and flowers. Looking around, Emma can see the beautiful decoration, it's a lot more positive than at the festival and all the people are having flowers in their hair, are dancing around and laughing. As far as Emma can tell no one of them has taken any drugs and they're just enjoying their time in a very natural way. Most of them don't wear any shoes and nearly every girl wears a beautiful summer dress. Emma is dancing with Jake, who wears a white summer shirt with a pink rose in his chest pocket. This time he's really enjoying himself and holds onto Emma's waist to keep her close to him. Like that they are swaying to the music, kissing from time to time.

But suddenly the mood changes. All the people get restless and start running around. The sky gets darker and a few people begin to fight. Emma and Jake stop dancing.

"Emma we need to go!" Jake shouts as the music is still loud. Also the music has gotten more aggressive all of a sudden. The people's facial expressions change and they look stressed and angry.

Emma feels scared and turns around frantically to see what's going on or what has caused this. As she turns back to Jake, he's still shouting at her. All around them, the people start looking at the couple, their eyes now really big, looking like they might pop out any time.

"Emma!" Jake keeps shouting as the crowd pushes them further apart.

"Jake," Emma shouts now desperately as well. Then all of a sudden, Emma sees someone emerging from the crowd. It's the man from earlier, the one with the white scary mask.

Emma screams and Jake keeps shouting. Louder and louder.

"Emma!"

Suddenly, Emma feels someone shaking her body. With a start she is ripped out of her slumber. She opens her eyes and is sitting upright.

Jake is still calling her name but it's dark again. Confused, Emma looks around and sees that she's back at the festival. Jake is kneeing in front of her, still with a slightly shocked expression but much calmer than in her dream.

"We need to go. Is everything alright?" he asks slightly worried and Emma nods, still recovering from her little nightmare.

"I'm fine, just a strange dream," she explains.

"We heard that," Olive chuckles.

At seeing Emma's puzzled expression, Jake explains.

"You were tossing and turning and then you started calling my name."

"Oh," Emma says and turns a little bit red.

"But what's going on anyway?" she asks then. The worried faces of the others haven't escaped her eyes and even now as she has explained about her dream, they don't fade. Then she remembers what Jake just said.

"We need to go home," he repeats. "Olive got hurt."

"What?" Emma exclaims shocked. Olive has just talked to her. Turning her head towards her, Emma know sees Enoch sitting in front of her, holding her left hand, that's wrapped in a few handkerchiefs, that are slowly getting soaked in something red.

"I'm fine," Olive tries to calm down Emma.

"No, you're not!" Enoch cuts in sharply, worry clear in his voice. " This is a deep cut and it may even need stitches."

"What happened?" Emma asks still confused with everything.

"It was just a stupid accident," Olive explains. "As you were sleeping, Enoch and I went for another round and left you here with Jake. As we came back, I wanted to sit down next to you but hadn't seen the broken glass bottle on the ground. And as I was sitting down, I accidentally placed my hand on it, while supporting my whole body weight."

"Ouch," Emma flinches. "Should we go into a hospital?"

"No, that's definitely not necessary!" Olive says. "I guess I got lucky, it could have ended a lot worse, but it's still bleeding a lot."

"But luckily, we have Ethan who will be able to take a look at it and treat it," Jake says and Emma nods.

"Have you called a taxi yet?" she wants to know.

"No," Olive sighs and rolls her eyes. Again Emma looks back in confusion.

"We've called Miss Peregrine," Enoch says matter-of-factly.

"You did what?" Emma can't believe what she's just heard.

"You heard right," Enoch says. "Olive needs a doctor, now, so of course we called Miss P. and Ethan to come as soon as possible."

"Sorry, Enoch, but I don't think so. As far as I can see, Olive is quite alright and would have survived the way back home, so there was no need to call them out of bed. It could have waited for when we arrive at home and maybe we even would have been able to just wake up Ethan. You know how much Miss Peregrine needs her sleep! And now you ripped her out of it and I bet she's going crazy with worry." Emma accuses Enoch.

"You're right, Emma. I didn't want it either but Enoch wouldn't let himself be talked around," Olive sighs. Emma gives her an understanding nod, while Enoch refuses to discuss this matter further.

"So when will they arrive here?" Emma asks Jake.

"Enoch called them a couple of minutes ago so I guess they will be here in about 10 minutes."

"Ok, then I'd like to go to the toilet first if that's alright," Emma says.

"Oh yes, me too," Olive agrees.

" No way, Olive, " Enoch says. "Can't you wait until we're at home, your wound is still bleeding."

"It's fine!" Olive answers, now more firmly before taking over holding her hand on her own.

Then Emma and her stand up to queue up a few metres away. As they are finished, the boys have already packed up all their things and wait in front of the toilets.

"Have you found the others by now?" Emma asks.

"No," Jake answers. "But I've sent them a text, saying that we're going home now."

The girls nod and follow the boys towards the exit. Outside of the fenced area they wait on the side of the road, sitting down on the grass again.

But it doesn't take long and soon Ethan's car stops in front of them. Immediately Miss Peregrine exits the car and rushes over to Olive, cupping her face with both hands.

"Oh, Olive, my girl. What happened?" she asks worried.

"I'm fine, Miss P." Olive answers, looking into her ymbryne's eyes. She looks tired and even slightly paler than Olive herself, which makes her feel guilty for waking her up in the middle of the night.

"It was just a stupid accident," she keeps explaining. "I didn't see the broken glass bottle and sat down next to it, placing my hand exactly where it laid."

"Oh, Olive," Miss Peregrine sighs while caressing her cheek. "Is it a deep cut? It looks like it's still bleeding.!"

"Let's enter the car, then I can take a first look at it," Ethan says, approaching the two.

Together they all sit down in the car and with the light, Ethan briefly inspects Olive's injury.

"It's not too deep," he informs the rest. "We won't have to go to a hospital, I'll just dress the wound at home, it may not even need stitches."

Especially Enoch and Miss Peregrine are really relieved and calm down again.

At home, Ethan makes Olive sit down at the table and gets his doctor's bag. After checking that there are no more glass splinters in the wound, he cleans and dresses it properly.

"You will have to wear this bandage for maybe two days but it will heal pretty soon," Ethan informs Olive, while the other teenagers are getting ready in the bathroom. "Is it painful?"

"It's alright I guess," Olive answers honestly. "It is beginning to sting a little bit more now though."

"If you want, I can give you some painkillers for the night," Ethan offers. Olive is unsure what to do. Her injury isn't hurting too much but she fears that it will keep her awake anyway when she lies down. For help she looks over her shoulder to Miss Peregrine, who's standing behind her and rubs her back gently.

"You don't have to take it now, Olive," she says. "It's just in case you can't sleep during the night."

"Alright," Olive says, looking back at Ethan, who searches in his bag and takes out a package with painkillers. He gives one of them to Olive.

"Thank you," she says and stands up to go into her room.

"Just go and lie down, I'll bring you a glass of water to your bed," Miss Peregrine offers.

While Ethan cleans up the table, Miss Peregrine fills a glass with tab water and follows Olive into the girls room. Emma is already lying in her bed and Olive has just put on her night gown.

Placing the glass on the bedside table, Miss Peregrine says goodnight to both girls. Because they are only whispering, Fiona is still asleep in her bed, just turning around from time to time.

"If you need anything, you can wake me anytime," she offers and Olive nods gratefully.

"Good night, Miss P. and thank you for everything!" both girls say before their ymbryne smiles and leaves the room.

They both stay quiet and don't talk anymore, slowly falling asleep. Olive thinks that she will manage without the painkillers, at least for now and falls asleep quite quickly.

Emma on the other hand can't really fall asleep immediately. She's still feeling quite awake from being ripped out of sleep earlier and the first shock when hearing about Olive. Besides she's still thinking about her strange nightmare. But Emma decides not to read too much into it, her mind was just processing the whole day - even if it was in an odd way.

The festival itself was really good and not scary at all. Together with their friends they had a really good time with lots of fun. And all the other young people have been really friendly and relaxed. Of course it could have been dangerous with the drug dealers around and the people that have gotten more scary during the evening. But Emma guesses that it was just the right time to leave and that it can always be a great party and you can still have lots of fun with these people as long as you leave before it gets unfriendly. Even if taking drugs will never be something she would do. Thinking about all the great things tonight, with the music still ringing in her ears, Emma drifts off to sleep, a smile still on her lips. And this time her dream stays friendly and bright until the end.


	44. Chapter 22 Part I

**Chapter 22**

 **Part I**

It's the first morning of the Easter holidays and even if it's quite early in the morning it's already noisy and chaotic in the house of Miss Peregrine and the children. Finally they are going on their big camping trip.

The last school week has been quite stressful. All of them had to plan the holiday and pack their things while still fulfilling their everyday duties. Ethan has done the most important things. He has rented two family tents. The bigger one has 6 separated areas: 4 small rooms where most of the children sleep ( both couples share a room each, all three boys another as well as Fiona and Bronwyn), one small room for supplies and a bigger corridor of sorts, where all of them would fit in should it rain outside.

In the second tent are 3 areas. One sleeping room for Ethan and Alma, one for Claire and the twins and another free room for clothes and other things.

Then he has rented bikes for all the children who haven't got one yet. For himself and Alma as well as for the teenage couples he has gotten tandem bikes. For the transport of all their things, they use bike trailers, which will be attached to the bikes of the teenagers, the boys and Bronwyn.

In addition to it, Ethan had to arrange a locum doctor for his office and had to book the campsites, they want to stay at during the next weeks. He has chosen quite a few so they will never have to go too far with their bikes to reach the next destination. He's not sure how long especially the little ones can drive in a row without complaining and also for Alma it will be good, not to drive too long.

A few days ago Bronwyn and Miss Peregrine have already brought the guinea pigs to a friend from school, whose parents also Miss Peregrine knows quite well. They are not going away for the holidays and their kids have been only too happy to care for Ginger and Spinner.

Claire's cat is supposed to stay on her own. Miss Peregrine assured her girl that it will be alright as she has been a stray cat before. Nonetheless, they have installed a self-made machine that will provide a bit of cat food every day as well as one for water. For the nights the cat has a little sleeping space next to the terrace door, still under the roof.

While the children had to pack all their toys that they might need, Miss Peregrine was busy with packing their clothes - at least those of the younger ones - and all the other things they will need, like dishes, cooking devices, towels, bathing clothes, blankets, cushions and sleeping mats as well as mosquito repellent. For herself she has packed some books, mostly about pregnancy or the development of a child before and after the birth. Alma hopes to have more time during the holiday as she hasn't had the opportunity to read a lot at home. But she wants to be well informed, to know how to behave during the pregnancy and what to do to ensure her child the best development possible.

Ethan has organized a little table, camp chairs, a camping cooker, a few fishing rods and a big inflatable dinghy. For himself and Alma he has gotten a camp bed and for Alma a breastfeeding pillow. She may not need it for the original purpose yet but it will help her with finding the right position to sleep.

The day before their departure Ethan and Alma went to see Catherine in her doctor's office again. They wanted her to check on Alma and the child before the big trip. Luckily everything was alright once more so Catherine had no objections. The only thing she has detected is a mild iron and magnesium deficiency, for which she gives Alma some pills as she has already complained about symptoms like dizziness or muscle cramps. In the end they get another ultrasound image of their child and Catherine wishes them a wonderful holiday.

So after everyone has gotten ready and they had breakfast together, all members of their big family start loading the trailers with their stuff. Miss Peregrine packs up the last things, like their food out of the fridge and everything they had to use this morning.

But finally everything is ready and they get to leave. All the children are really excited and can't stay quiet for just one second.

Together they make their way to the train station of the city. They want to take the train out of the city as it wouldn't be so nice to drive along the big streets. But only this short trip is easier said than done. None of them has driven a tandem bike before so especially for Ethan, Alma and the teenagers it's quite difficult. Just Olive and Enoch seem to be a dream team and manage to drive very soon. But the rest decides to walk the bike to the train station. In the city it's just too dangerous to practice it.

Arriving at the train station, the children's excitement doesn't wear off, not in the slightest. All the people around them, citizens, tourists and lots of stores. Since living in the city they haven't been out much. They know their way to school and to their hobbies and they have been into the city center a few times, but never here. All the train stations they have seen before were way smaller as they were train stations from up to 70 years ago. Especially the little ones are mesmerized by all the colors and noises. It's already like a holiday far away from home and Ethan and Alma have to make them hurry so they can get their train.

As quickly as possible, they make their way through the crowd - Ethan in the front and Alma in the back, so that no one gets lost.

Arriving at the train, Ethan finds a free railway carriage where they can stay with their bikes and trailers. As they are so many, they occupy the whole carriage on their own. It reminds the children a bit of their trip to London nearly two years ago. But this one is much more comfortable and modern.

During the drive, some of the children look outside the window, watching the city disappear in the distance and the landscape changing until there are very few villages and lots of fields and woods.

The boys have started playing cards with Ethan while Emma and Olive are talking to Miss Peregrine. She is showing them the ultrasound image while the girls keep asking questions about how it feels to be pregnant.

Soon they arrive in a small village where they had planned to get off the train. The teenagers, Ethan and Bronwyn carry the bikes and trailers out of the train. The others are already standing on the platform, taking deep breaths of country air. Miss Peregrine urges the children to use their sunscreen because the sun is high up in the sky by now. She herself applies it on the little ones and makes them wear their sunglasses and sun hats before they can start. This time, with lots of space on the road, Ethan and Alma as well as Emma and Jake get the hang of driving their bikes quite quickly. After a couple of minutes they have left the small village behind and are surrounded by a wild landscape. As they seem to be in the middle of nowhere, Miss Peregrine allows Millard to take off his overall, which has gotten really uncomfortable under the hot sun.

Happily the children cycle ahead, doing little races and stunts. The little ones who haven't got so much experience with driving a bike, are cycling with no hands for the first time.

"Look, Miss Peregrine! I can already do it for a couple of meters," Claire shouts from the front.

Alma and Ethan smile about the carefree atmosphere and the fun, that the children already have.

Regularly they do little breaks to drink enough because of the hot weather. All of them are really happy about it although they know that it will rain again soon enough. But during the first day, it would have been really discouraging.

Round about at lunchtime, they reach a small stream where they want to stop for a bigger break. By now they have travelled half of their way for today and everyone is still in a good mood. Parking their bikes next to the road, the children make their way down to the water immediately, while Ethan and Alma unpack their food and two big picnic blankets.

"Miss Peregrine, Ethan, come down here," Olive shouts.

The children are having a water fight, standing with their feet in the stream, splashing water everywhere.

Ethan and Alma have to laugh.

"Come on, let's join them," Ethan suggests and takes Alma by the hand to pull her with him down to the water. As soon as they have left their shoes on the riverside, the children start attacking them as well.

"Stop, stop, not so much," Alma laughs and holds her hands up to keep her head from getting completely wet too. Ethan runs past her into the water and fights back.

If anyone else would have driven by, he must have thought they were crazy. Twelve children and two adults jumping around in the stream, screaming and laughing.

Very soon, all of them are wet from head to toes and breathless from fighting and laughing at the same time. Exhausted they make their way to the blankets, Ethan and Miss Peregrine have already prepared. Miss Peregrine walks over to a trailer to get 2 towels, they can use to at least dry their faces and hair before eating.

The sun is still hot, so the wet clothes feel pleasant but at the same time they are drying on their own. All of them enjoy the delicious food, Miss Peregrine has prepared for their first day: lots of fruits, sandwiches, little sausages and self made lemonade which is still cold as there have been lots of ice cubes in it.

As they are finished, some children have lied down on the ground watching the clouds pass bay, telling each other what shapes they are seeing.

"I can see a dog," Bronwyn says and points at the cloud she's talking about.

"That's not a dog," Millard laughs. "It's a crocodile, can't you see it?"

"No it's definitely a dog," Bronwyn insists. "Miss Peregrine! Isn't this could looking like a dog?"

"I'm not sure Bronwyn," Alma answers. "I guess it depends on how you look at it. I see what you both mean but when I look at it, it rather looks like a little pig."

"A Pig?" Claire snorts. "That one doesn't look like a pig at all."

"To me it does," Miss Peregrine replies. "But I guess it's senseless to argue about it as everyone sees something different."

"Probably," Bronwyn admits and looks back into the sky. Soon the sun gets pretty hot again as their clothes have dried.

"Can we go swimming in the river?" Claire begs while jumping to her feet.

"Yes, it's so hot," Fiona adds and sits up.

"I know," Miss Peregrine answers. "But we should rather keep going. There are still a few miles until we reach our first camping side and I'd rather we arrive early enough. I think Ethan said that there will be a big lake. You can swim there, ok?"

"Yes, that's right," Ethan confirms. "There's a big lake where we can fish and swim and rent little pedal boats with slides on it."

"Ok," Claire says reluctantly.

After Miss Peregrine has gotten the sunscreen again and everyone has used it once more, they go back to their bikes. For the whole afternoon they keep cycling, still with lots of fun, but the more time passes the more tired the children get. The little ones have already asked a couple of times when they will finally arrive and also Miss Peregrine has let Ethan drive alone for some time to rest a bit.

After nearly 6 hours, sitting on a bike is getting pretty uncomfortable for all of them and they want to reach their destination as soon as possible.

At around half past five, they eventually arrive at the first camping site. Excited but exhausted and with a sore bum they get of their bikes and take a look around. Ethan takes care of the administrative stuff like the check in or the payment. After he comes back with a few papers with information about the camping here they walk their bikes and search for perfect place to stay.

The camping site is huge. At the entrance there's a bigger house with the reception desk, a kiosk as well as the toilets and showers. Then there comes a little parking space and behind they find a large area with lots of trees where you can put up a tent. A few people are already camping here but all in all it's pretty empty. In the middle of this little 'forest' is a big playground, which makes the smaller children's faces light up immediately.

"Can we stay near the playground, please?"Claire asks immediately and also the twins jump up and down.

"I'd rather stay somewhere in the corner where it's a lot more quiet and with less people around," Enoch argues and the other teenagers agree with him.

On the other end of the camping area, they can see a big wooden bridge, obviously leading to the advertised bathing lake.

"I'm sorry children, but I'm with Enoch," Ethan says his opinion. "I'm rather on my own and with lots of nature around me rather than neighbors. What about you?" he asks Miss Peregrine.

"I don't care to be honest," she shrugs. "But I prefer a place not too far away from the toilets as you know that I'm spending a lot of time there at the moment." Miss Peregrine winks at her children who laugh about her comment.

"Does it mean that we have to stay next to the entrance and the parking space?" Hugh asks a bit annoyed.

"I think we'll just walk around and take a look at everything," Ethan suggests. "I'm sure we will find a place that's fine for everyone."

And that's exactly what happens. On the other side of the camping area, near the bridge, they find a beautiful place in the corner, surrounded by bushes. It's only 200 meters away from the playground and 100 meters to the other side is a small wooden hut with toilets.

"That's perfect," Miss Peregrine smiles and takes Ethan's hand. "It was a good idea to go and look around."

They park all the trailers and bikes on the side and decide where exactly they want to place both tents. Miss Peregrine wants the two tent's facing each other as they want to put a tarpaulin over both entrances. Like that they have a roofed outdoor space and both tents are joined so they could walk over to the other tent even if it's raining outside.

While the younger children are allowed to inspect the playground, Miss Peregrine and the girls start unpacking their things and Ethan and the boys put up the tents. Then the girls bring all their things inside and prepare the beds while Ethan starts a small fire and begins to prepare everything for cooking the dinner.

A while later they are all sitting around the camp fire. It's already getting dark outside. They have just finished their dinner. Miss Peregrine has cooked a vegetable soup in a big pot over the fire and Ethan has gotten a few packages with little sausages that they are roasting near the flames, spiked on little sticks.

Now they are singing a few songs and watch the flames dancing. All of them feel very exhausted from the day and the little ones start getting sleepy very soon. Before they fall asleep completely, Miss Peregrine sends them to brush their teeth and to use the toilet one last time before going to bed.

"It's not like at home where you only have to walk through the illuminated living room to reach the bath room. So let's do everything possible to keep you from needing the loo at night and wander around in the dark, alright?" she says.

As Ethan has put out the fire and the children have entered their sleeping rooms, Miss Peregrine and Ethan go into their own tent to get ready.

"Good night and don't forget to close the tents properly. We wouldn't want to have mosquitoes and other little bugs inside the tents at night," Miss Peregrine calls out to the children.

As they have brushed their teeth as well, Ethan and Alma lie down on their camp bed. It's not really small but with their blankets and Alma's huge breastfeeding pillow it seems a bit cramped. Before they go to sleep, Alma lies down in Ethan's arms and he massages and lotions her bump. As it has growing again during the last weeks, the skin is beginning to stretch and itch. Ethan tries to make it as bearable as possible for Alma. But Ethan as well enjoys the procedure. The child is now moving regularly and even he can feel and see it. Besides it's now developing its sensory perception and both of the adults love getting in contact with the child and seeing its reaction. After cuddling for some time, Alma tries to find a comfortable sleeping position with her pillow and drifts off to sleep very soon. She has felt really exhausted after the trip today and was already happy that Ethan had the idea with the tandem bike. If she had to drive all the way on her own, she probably wouldn't have arrived here today. But like this it was manageable and now she's looking forward to some relaxed days, knowing that today was the hardest and longest part of their journey.


	45. Chapter 22 II

**Chapter 22**

 **Part II**

The next morning they all wake up to the bright sunshine and the sound of birds.

Miss Peregrine turns around in her bed to look at Ethan.

"I don't want to get up," she whines but is laughing at the same time.

"Then stay here," Ethan says. "We're on holiday, so you can do whatever you want."

Miss Peregrine turns back into her pillow and contemplates the idea.

"Yesterday was a bit too much for you, was it?" Ethan asks while getting dressed in their little dormitory. It's big enough to stand upright and provides enough space for their bed and their suitcases, though.

"I'm still a bit exhausted," Miss Peregrine admits and looks back up.

"I'm sorry," Ethan apologizes. "As I was planning it, the distance seemed manageable but with what I know now, I probably would have chosen a camping site that's a bit closer."

"Nah, it's alright," Miss Peregrine answers. "I'm good, just a bit tired but it'll pass."

"Ok, then stay in bed a bit longer, I'm going to prepare breakfast," Ethan suggests and makes his way out of their 'room' and then out of the whole tent. On his way he passes the sleeping area of the little ones but they seem to be still asleep.

But soon all the children climb out of the tents and join Ethan outside. They are all having sore muscles from yesterday but it doesn't stop them from being excited about the day and exploring the camping site.

While they are all eating the pancakes or scrambled eggs that Ethan has cooked, Claire keeps scratching her legs and arms.

"What's with your leg?" Miss Peregrine asks.

"Nothing," Claire answers quickly and keeps eating her food. "Why are you scratching then?" Miss Peregrine keeps asking.

As Claire still shrugs, she walks over to her girl to inspect her skin.

"Mosquito bites? Claire, haven't I told you to close the tent before going to bed?" Miss Peregrine asks.

"Yes Miss P., but there must have been one inside already," Claire justifies and rubs another bite on her arm.

"They are everywhere," Miss Peregrine sighs and shakes her head. Then she looks at the twins to see if they have them too. But luckily they shake their heads and Miss Peregrine knows that their bodies have been covered the whole night.

"Ok, Claire," she says then, her voice now softer.

"I don't want you to keep scratching. It's not helping but makes everything worse. I think Ethan has brought some soothing gel. We will apply it on the bites after breakfast, than you won't feel them anymore, alright?"

Claire nods gratefully.

After they have finished eating and Miss Peregrine has taken care of Claire, the younger ones beg to go to the playground. Ethan decides to take a bike to drive to the next bigger village to buy some food for the next days. They have brought a few things but all the fresh groceries they wanted to buy on the spot.

Therefore Miss Peregrine offers to keep the children company and have an eye on them while they are playing and climbing around on the playground. In the trees next to it are a few hammocks, where Miss Peregrine and the teenagers make themselves comfortable in. They are reading their books or just relax, while the others climb around in a big net, swing or play with a ball.

By now Claire has forgotten about her mosquito bites and plays with Bronwyn on the seesaw.

"Hey, be careful! You're ruining my shirt," Horace shouts all of a sudden. He has played with Millard and Hugh, throwing the ball as high as possible while still being able to catch it. But as it has gotten higher and higher, they only looked up into the sky. And that's when Hugh accidently stumbles backwards and pushes Horace into a few thorny bushes.

Miss Peregrine looks up from her book to see what's happening. As she sees that all the children are fine, she lies back down and rolls her eyes.

After living together for so long all of them know each other's quirks and the children have long learned to settle these little arguments on their own, without her interference.

After Ethan returns from his little shopping trip and Miss Peregrine has relaxed enough they both go for a little walk through the adjoining forest. Hand in hand they wander along the path and admire the nature around them.

Very soon a few birds come by and fly over their heads, sitting down on little branches next to their heads and chirping at them.

"Do you think they can feel a connection with you?" Ethan asks curiously at seeing the birds looking at Alma.

"I don't know," she laughs. "But it's possible. I've never really thought about it before but it's right, birds always behave less shy around me compared to others."

Joyfully they keep walking around, enjoying only the silence and their company, before returning to the others. They are now playing hide and seek all together.

"Millard, you're cheating again. Go and put your clothes back on," Emma shouts from the crown of a tree.

"Only if you put your shoes back on," Millard shouts back.

Laughing, Ethan and Alma sit down on their chairs in front of the tent.

"Can we go swimming now?" Claire asks while running towards them. She wants to jump on Miss Peregrine's lap but is stopped by Ethan.

"Careful, careful, Claire," he warns smiling at her. "You wouldn't want to hurt the baby or even all three of you if the camping chair collapses."

"Of course not," Claire giggles at the idea of them lying on the ground. Then she carefully climbs on Miss Peregrine's lap and strokes the baby bump.

"I would never hurt you," she says before turning around again. "What about the swimming now?" she repeats her question.

"We're going swimming soon enough, Claire," Miss Peregrine answers. "But let's wait until the afternoon, ok?"

"Ok," Claire pouts, so Miss Peregrine gives her a kiss on the forehead to cheer her up again.

Soon the other children join them as well and they start preparing some sandwiches for lunch. While they are eating, Miss Peregrine makes the children drink lots of water as it is so hot and she knows that the children always forget to drink enough when they are playing.

Afterwards, Claire finally gets her will and they pack some things before going over to the big bathing lake. After they cross the wooden bridge, there's a free area with grass and a few trees. They place a few blankets and their stuff under a big tree before going down to the beach. It's a beautiful little area with sand and some shallow water. Immediately the children start undressing and run into the water with their bathing clothes. Miss Peregrine and Ethan stay behind for now and sit down in the sand, just watching the children go crazy in the water.

"Don't you want to swim, too?" Ethan asks after some minutes.

"Sure, but not yet," Miss Peregrine answers. "I'm pretty happy where I am right now," she laughs and leans into Ethan's arms even more. Happily Ethan embraces her and they just enjoy each other's company and the sight of their happy children.

Enoch and Jake are just having a swimming competition further away from the beach while the other boys have started playing with a ball again. The girls are diving and doing tricks under the water. Emma and Olive are showing Bronwyn, Claire and Fiona how to do a handstand or backflip under the water.

"Ugh! Miss P! There was a fish in my face!" Bronwyn exclaims and comes running out of the water towards the two adults, who have to laugh.

"Come here," Miss Peregrine says lovingly and wipes Bronwyn's face with her hands.

"Better now?" she asks and her girl nods but doesn't seem to want to go back to the others.

"Don't worry, Bronwyn, the fish won't hurt you," Miss Peregrine tries to assure her.

"I bet he was even more scared than you," Ethan adds.

"Exactly, I'm sure he's long gone and hiding somewhere else," Miss Peregrine says.

Unsure, Bronwyn nods again and looks over her shoulder to the others, who are still having fun in the water.

"Ok," she says finally. "But don't you want to come into the water, too?"

"Ok, ok," Miss Peregrine says and stands up. "If you both want me to go swimming I can't say no any longer, can I?" she jokes and takes off her dress that she was wearing over her bikini. Also Ethan takes off his shirt and together they follow Bronwyn down into the water. Excitedly, all the children look at them. It's always a lot of fun when they are all playing something together. They may even stare a bit too long at Miss Peregrine's body, but they don't often see her so revealing. Besides, just wearing the bikini, emphasizes her baby bump even more, until now they have never seen it like this. Quickly they run towards their ymbryne and Ethan and start splashing water at them until they are completely wet and want to take revenge by hunting them all down and starting a tickling attack on the little ones.

During the next hours they have a lot of fun in and out of the water. As they've got enough of dabbling in the water, some of them go sun bathing or play in the sand. Claire, Bronwyn and Fiona build a huge sand castles with little rivers all around it. Then Ethan takes the boys to a pier a few meters away and shows them how to fish.

Miss Peregrine, Olive and Emma have taken their little boat and are floating on the lake, watching the others.

A few times they earn annoyed shouts from the boys as they come too close to their fishing spot, scaring the fish away.

At the end of the day, the boys have caught enough fish for their dinner. Happy as well as a bit exhausted they all pack up their things and walk back to their tents. While they change their clothes and Miss Peregrine tidies up a bit, Ethan starts another campfire and they start roasting the fish. It's a very hot evening with lots of mosquitoes. Luckily the fire helps a little bit with the latter but Miss Peregrine still gets the mosquito spray out of her suitcase and makes the children use it.

As they go to bed most of them have troubles falling asleep because of the heat. The children as well as Ethan and Alma keep tossing and turning for a few hours.

Luckily for some of them it starts raining during the night, which cools down the air enormously, but especially the younger ones are afraid as a real thunderstorm starts. Ethan has to get up again, checks the tents and all attachments to prevent anything from flying off. Meanwhile Bronwyn who's the only one that's scared in the bigger tent joins Claire and the twins in their sleeping room to be closer to their ymbryne as well.

It takes some more hours but finally the weather calms down again and they all fall asleep.


	46. Chapter 22 Part III

**Hello to everyone who's still reading this story. Thank you all for your great reviews, it really makes me happy to read them. This chapter is a bit longer than my usually ones but I hope you enjoy reading it at least half as much as I did writing it - to me it really felt like being on holiday myself.**

 **Chapter 22**

 **Part III**

The raining doesn't stop the whole next day so they all sleep late to catch up on the sleep they didn't get last night and stay inside.

After they had breakfast, they play lots of games, that Miss Peregrine has luckily brought for an emergency like this. During the day the temperature is already rising again, despite the rain and the children feel like going to swim anyway. But Ethan as well as Miss Peregrine say that it's way too dangerous, so the little ones are only allowed to run around the tents a couple of times and jump into a few puddles on the way, wearing just their bathing clothes. For them it's still a lot of fun and a pleasant change from being inside all day. There's a lot of room in the big tent but with 14 and a half people inside, it's getting pretty cramped.

After eating something for dinner they take all their blankets and pillows and snuggle up in the big tent. Ethan has removed the room dividers, so that the 4 separate little sleeping rooms become one.

In the area of the entrance he has hung up a big white blanket. For the first time in many months they are watching Horace's dreams again. It's especially interesting at the moment as he's dreaming a lot about their current trip and even of their life before and after the birth of the new child.

As Miss Peregrine sees herself 9 months pregnant, she groans. "Really?" she asks. "I'm already feeling like a whale, is it really going to get so much worse?"

Ethan has to smile and all the children laugh. This makes Miss Peregrine smile, too, even though she was kind of serious and none of the others know how it really feels to be pregnant.

"I'm afraid that now is still the beginning of it, Alma," Ethan answers her half rhetorical question but gives her a kiss. "But you look beautiful like that - and sexy," he assures her, winking.

"You just like the new size of my breasts," Alma snorts, but still quietly enough that only Ethan can hear her. At least, that's what she thinks. But also Emma and Olive, that are sitting in front of her seem to have heard it as they turn their heads and smirk at both adults.

"I can't say that it's wrong," Ethan laughs. "But then, I didn't have much to complain about before the pregnancy either."

Both adults as well as the teenage girls laugh about that comment, while Miss Peregrine turns slightly red. Some of the other children look at them confused as well as annoyed.

"Shush," Bronwyn says, glaring at them, which makes them laugh even more.

Soon though they calm down again and keep watching the 'movie'.

"I love you even more for enduring all the bad parts of it," Ethan says and kisses Alma.

Hearing this from Ethan and seeing her happy family with the baby on the screen makes her forget about all the bad things and she has to smile.

As they are all feeling tired enough they retreat into their own bedrooms and this time they fall asleep a lot sooner. The air outside is still cool enough and they can even open the tent a bit, at least where there's still a roof above it, because with the rain there are no mosquitoes outside.

The next days are warm and sunny again. The children enjoy their holiday a lot. They play all kind of games, go for little walks together with their ymbryne and Ethan, go swimming, fishing and even rent three paddleboats, which have little slides on them and take them all across the lake. They sit at the campfire, sing songs and roast their food. For them all it feels like the best and most carefree time in their whole life. Something they definitely deserve after the last one and a half year.

On their 5th day of their holiday they decide to move on to the next camping site. Early in the morning they pack all their things, take down the tents and load everything onto their trailers. This time it's only a three hours drive and much more relaxed for them all.

But the excitement when arriving at the new camping site is the same. It looks really different from the first one. It's much more wide and open with lots of grass and less and different trees. Next to the entrance and the registration house is a big fenced area.

Curiously the children abandon their bikes and run over to it while Ethan takes care of their registration again.

"What is in there Miss Peregrine?" Claire asks.

"I don't know, I can't see any animals," she answers while scanning the compound.

"There is something!" Hugh shouts out and points at a big grey bird that's walking on the ground.

"What is it, Miss P.?" Bronwyn wants to know.

"It looks like a peacock," Miss Peregrine answers thoughtfully.

"A peacock? But that's not one, where are his blue and green feathers?" Claire wants to know.

"It's a female one," Millard sighs a little bit annoyed. _Haven't the others never been listening to what Miss Peregrine used to teach us?!_

"That's right, Millard," Miss Peregrine agrees. "But keep looking around, Claire, there must be a male one somewhere."

The children start walking around along the fence searching for a male peacock.

"There!" Olive exclaims and everyone comes running towards her.

"Oh, it's really beautiful," Claire marvels.

"It is and look, there's even a second one," Miss Peregrine says and shows Claire where to look.

"Oh yes, but can't he make a peacock's fan? He only drags his feathers behind his body," Claire points out a bit disappointed.

"I'm sure he can, but maybe he doesn't want to right now," Miss Peregrine explains patiently.

"We'll probably see it while we're here, Claire," Emma assures her little sister.

Until Ethan joins them, they have even found some more peacocks but unfortunately none with his fan up.

"What beautiful birds," Ethan says while approaching them.

"Yes, they are coming out of their hiding places, it seems as if they are expecting us to feed them or something," Fiona informs him.

"That's probably right," Ethan answers.

Together they all walk back to their bikes.

"The man at the counter told me that there's a really nice and large camping spot over there, let's have a look," Ethan suggests.

Soon they found the perfect spot, half in the shadow of a really big tree and half on a sunny grassland. Behind it they can see lots of fields with little paths in between and to the left side is a little forest but with very few trees and still lots of sunny spots.

Together they put up the tents again and carry their things inside. And while Miss Peregrine and Ethan finish up with the rest the children are already allowed to run around and explore everything.

They are chasing each other through the woods and fields or climb on trees.

Miss Peregrine and Ethan soon sit down on the chairs in front of their tents and watch them. They are really happy about their youthfulness and curiosity.

"It's amazing how they are able to just play all together and invent new games all the time, without anything. Today very few children are still so inventive and can stay busy without the TV, smartphones or computers," Ethan admires.

"That's true," Alma says proudly. "But I guess it comes with how they grew up and the time we lived in."

"Of course," Ethan agrees. "But nonetheless you did a really good job with their upbringing and I'm totally sure that you'll achieve the same with our child, despite all the influences from the outside world," Ethan assures her while taking her hand in his.

"I'll do my best," Miss Peregrine laughs. "But I'm sure that you won't be a bad role model either."

Contentedly they keep watching the children until they hear a cry from somewhere. Concerned Miss Peregrine jumps to her feet and looks around to see where it came from. Then she can see Olive standing in the woods a few meters away, looking at something on the ground, while other children come running towards her. She seems to be alright but nonetheless Miss Peregrine runs over to her, followed by Ethan.

"What is it, Olive?" she asks as she arrives there breathlessly.

"I was wandering around and suddenly there was this thing," Olive explains and points down at a little brown ball on the ground.

"What is it?" Hugh asks curiously while Millard gets a stick to poke at it.

"Don't!"Ethan tells him. "I think it's a little armadillo."

"Oh, that's so cute," Fiona says and kneels down to inspect it.

"Be careful," Miss Peregrine warns as the little animal starts to move and lifts it's head.

"Can we pet it please?" Claire begs.

"No children, that's not a good idea," Ethan says. "I can see why you think they are cute, I do too. But they can transmit diseases that you don't want to get, alright?"

Disappointed they nod and watch the animal walk away further into the woods again.

As the last ones, Horace and Jake join them. They have heard half of the conversation.

"There are lots of them over there, too," Horace explains.

"Alright, children, they seem to live here and walk around in the woods. You can watch them and everything but please don't touch them as Ethan has said, alright?"

"Yes, Miss P." the children answer.

Together they return to their tents and eat something for lunch.

During the afternoon they keep exploring the camping site. Taking a small path through the fields they find a big stream. It's not really deep and most of the time the water is calm, so Miss Peregrine allows them to go swimming in it. The children are really happy about it because they have already missed the big lake of their previous camping site as the weather is still warm. On their way back, the girls see a few horses and Ethan tells them that it's possible to take riding lessons here. Immediately the girls start begging Miss Peregrine to do it.

"Ok, ok, we will go and ask when it's possible," Miss Peregrine assures them.

"And what are we going to do?" Millard asks. "I definitely don't want to go riding," Hugh adds laughing .

"It's alright, boys, me neither" Ethan says. "How about we go fishing at the stream? We could use some fish for dinner."

"Oh yes," Millard exclaims. "I want to catch the most fish this time."

"No way, I've already been better the last time and that won't change today," Hugh teases him.

"Stop arguing, little boys and look at Jake and me, we know how to do it," Enoch says boastfully.

"Yeah, yeah, just go and do your competition," Emma laughs. And this is where they part company.

The rest of the afternoon the boys are at the stream fishing while the girls are having their first riding lessons. The lovely teacher explains everything to them. How to handle horses and how to prepare them for the ride. Then they practice on a little riding area near the camping site before riding along the paths between the fields. Miss Peregrine didn't want to participate but as they told her that they will leave the camping site later on and that she won't be able to follow them unless on the back of a horse, she changed her mind. It's not the first time for her but she hasn't been on a horse for at least 60 years and especially now as she's pregnant, she feels a bit insecure. But everything ends fine and she as well as her girls have a great afternoon. During their ride, they passed the boys who were busy with their competition. It looked like Millard was really good, pulling one fish after another out of the water but in the end of the day as they all return to their tents it's Horace who looks victorious.

The girls have to laugh out loud about them.

"I thought you wanted to show them how to do it properly," Emma and Olive snort.

"Keep laughing," Enoch snarls. "I hope you two fell of your horses." But his comment makes them only laugh more.

Miss Peregrine has feared that they will bring home a few buckets of fish, by what they saw earlier. But luckily they have set most of them free again and returned with only one fish for them all.

Quickly Ethan starts a fire while Miss Peregrine prepares the fish. During the evening, as they are eating, the girls don't stop talking about their riding experience. But the boys are more interested in how Miss Peregrine did on the horse as they've never seen her riding before.

"It was alright," Miss Peregrine laughs as Ethan asks her. "I didn't fell off the horse and it did what I wanted it to do." All the children start laughing with her.

Afterwards the girls want to hear the story how Horace won the fishing competition. But it seems that he just got lucky.

The night again is quite hot and for most of the children it's really hard to fall asleep. Luckily here are less mosquitoes, probably because of the missing lake, and they can at least open the tent a bit.

Emma and Jake are still lying awake in their part of the big tent. Emma has placed her head on Jake's chest and he embraces her with his arms, letting his hands caress every part of her body. As he starts lifting her shirt to stroke her skin underneath, Emma needs to giggle but stops him.

"You've got no idea what I would love to do right now," she says. "But we can't, not here, Jake."

"I know," Jake laughs. "And therefore I have a plan." Quickly, he gets up from their camping mats and wants to leave the tent.

"What are you doing?" Emma asks confused.

"You'll see," Jake answers. "Just come with me."

Excited and curious, Emma follows him.

Together they cross the whole camping area and make their way down in between the fields until they reach the river.

"Jake, what are we doing here?" Emma wants to know, now getting impatient. But Jake doesn't answer and only kisses her passionately, so Emma doesn't have another choice than to do the same.

After some time, Jake begins to undress himself and then Emma.

"This is your plan?" Emma laughs.

"No," Jake just says and lifts Emma up into her arms, which makes Emma shriek in surprise. At a smart pace, he carries her down to the water and before Emma can realize what's happening they are already knee-deep in the river. Giggling they plunge into the cold water, kissing again.

Together they spend a wonderful night in the water, which ends with them running back to their tents, still soaking wet and barely able to stop laughing. Just in time, they get quiet before arriving in front of their tents, where Miss Peregrine is standing with a glass water in her hand.

She looks at them scrutinizingly.

"We just couldn't sleep because of the heat and thought a little walk might help," Emma tries to explain before bursting out laughing.

"I see," Miss Peregrine says, smirking. "And are you feeling more refreshed now?" she asks.

"Mhm," Emma nods enthusiastically.

"That's good," Miss Peregrine answers. "Maybe you will be able to sleep now, I wish I could. Probably I should go for a little walk to the river myself."

"Probably," Jake agrees, now smirking as well before he and Emma walk towards their own tent.

"Good night, Miss P." both of them say simultaneously and Miss Peregrine nods at them.

For her it's different, compared to the others. Of course it's hot and the fact that she starts sweating very quickly at the moment isn't helping, but sleeping in general has gotten more and more difficult. The child is developing a sleep-wake-rhythm and always seems to be awake when Alma wants to sleep. Moreover the growing baby bump is keeping her from finding a comfortable sleeping position as well as stressing her body more, especially her pelvis and back, which can get quite painful in the evenings. And if all that isn't bothering her, she's starting to feel more of the Braxton Hicks contractions, which have increased since the first time with Ethan's mother. A few days after Olivia has left, she has talked to Ethan about it and since then he has helped her a lot. Of course all this pregnancy stuff is kind of new to him too. He may have heard of a lot of things during his training but as he was sure to never be a gynecologist, he didn't really take in all of it. But he's great and has read a lot about all these things to be there for Alma in the best way possible.

At home it was slightly easier for her to get distracted or ease the feeling by walking around or drinking enough. But now it's a bit more complicated. She doesn't really want to get up and maybe wake up the others again. After another half an hour she decides to get up after all and at least drink something and maybe walk around a bit. And she's lucky and eventually she feels more comfortable and can go back to bed. Ethan has already noticed her absence and looks up with a frown.

"Are you alright?" he asks while sitting up.

"I'm fine, I just couldn't sleep that's all," Alma answers and lies down next to him again.

"Have you drunk enough water?" Ethan asks as he knows exactly what bothered her and Alma nods while snuggling up to him.

"And it's better now?" Ethan wants to make sure and at the same time let's his hand stroke over her stomach which has stopped feeling tight by now.

"Yes it is," Miss Peregrine answers yawning. "Ok, then hopefully you will sleep now," Ethan says before they both close their eyes. And this time Miss Peregrine falls asleep, too.


	47. Chapter 22 Part IV

**Chapter 22**

 **Part IV**

The next day is once again very hot, probably even the hottest day so far. The Floridian summer is now really announcing itself.

Therefore all the children and the two adults are spending the whole day at the river. A few meters upwards, there's even a small waterfall and the river forms some kind of bay, where the water is quite shallow and calm.

The children really enjoy playing in the water, jumping from the rocks or standing under the waterfall.

The adults have built up some sort of camp on the grass, where they are relaxing on some blankets in the shadow of a tree or eating and drinking some of the delicious things Ethan has once more bought in a supermarket.

"Look, Miss P." Claire and Bronwyn giggle. "Aren't we looking pretty?" Both girls are sitting with the adults at the moment. They are eating some fruits and have used four pairs of cherries as earrings.

"Yes, you look like real ladies," Miss Peregrine answers and pets both her girls heads.

"Come on, Claire, let's go swimming again," Bronwyn suggests and runs off.

"No, I'm not in the mood," Claire answers.

"Don't you like swimming, Claire?" Emma asks as she's just coming out of the water, wringing out her hair on the way. She's followed by Olive, who's drying her hair with her hands.

"Let me," she offers and helps Emma as well.

"I do," Claire answers. "But not anymore, now I want to play with the twins, there on the rocks."

She points at the rocks next to the waterfall, where the twins are climbing around, throwing little stones back into the river, and runs towards them.

"Be careful, Claire," Miss Peregrine calls after her while offering the plate with fruits to the two older girls, that are sitting down next to her on the blanket.

Soon they lie down there and start reading or sleeping. Miss Peregrine and Ethan have gone into the river to cool down a bit and the boys, Fiona and Bronwyn are chasing each other and playing with a ball.

As the sun begins to set, they all walk back to their tents. Ethan starts another camp fire and Miss Peregrine, with the help of the teenagers, prepares their dinner. The younger ones are in charge of tidying up the tents and their clothes and toys, that are lying around everywhere.

Miss Peregrine can see a few armadillos running around in the woods next to their tents. One has even a few little ones with him. They look really cute and Miss Peregrine can understand her children only too well when they want to play with them. She's just grateful that the animals don't come closer and that the children seem to have forgotten about petting them.

Soon they are all sitting around the fire and enjoy some grilled sausages with salad and self-made campfire bread.

Millard and Horace are discussing the best way of roasting their bread, while Hugh, for the second time, is trying to scrape off the burned parts of his.

"I don't like this," he sighs. "The bread is either burned or still raw."

"Here, let me," Fiona offers and takes care of Hugh's bread in addition to hers.

After Claire's sausage has fallen into the fire for the second time, she runs out of patience and climbs onto Miss Peregrine's lap. Groggily she tries to snuggle into her ymbryne's arm, which has gotten more complicated with the little space, that's left despite the baby bump.

"Hey, what's up, Claire?" Miss Peregrine says and brushes away some strands of her out of the little girl's face.

"My head hurts," Claire complains. Worried, Miss Peregrine takes a closer look at her and strokes her forehead again.

"Ethan, can you come over for a moment, please?" she calls and Ethan stops poking at the fire to get up and sit down next to Alma.

"What is it?" he asks and smiles at the sight of Claire in her arms.

"It's Claire," Miss Peregrine says. "She's feeling unwell, her head hurts and I think she might even have a temperature."

Ethan frowns and places his own hand on Claire's forehead.

"You're right, she feels a bit warm but it's not too much," he assures Alma.

"Can you look up at me, Claire?" Ethan asks in a soft voice, so with an effort Claire lifts her head.

Ethan cups her face with both his hands and examines her closely.

"Is there anything else that hurts, except your head?"

"My tummy hurts a bit too," she says.

"And are you feeling sick, too?"

Claire shakes her head tiredly.

"Ok," Ethan answers nodding and lets Claire lean back into Miss Peregrine's chest, while looking towards Alma.

"What if she came near the armadillos after all and got infected with something?" Miss Peregrine fears.

"I'm sure that it's just the hot weather," Ethan tells her. "Claire is slightly dehydrated. She spent the whole day in the blazing sun, so her body is just reacting to the stress."

Still worried and not less confused Alma looks back at him. "But this can be quite dangerous for little children, too, right?"

"Yes but firstly Claire isn't that little anymore and she's still alright enough, so I wouldn't worry that much," Ethan assures her. "Make her drink enough and then just let her rest, she will be fine tomorrow," Ethan winks at Alma.

"Ok," Miss Peregrine sighs relieved and tries to stand up with Claire in her arm.

"No, let me," Ethan stops her and walks off to get a bottle of water.

After Miss Peregrine has made Claire drink nearly the whole bottle, Ethan wants to carry her to her sleeping place. But Claire holds onto Miss Peregrine's shirt and whimpers.

"Let her stay," Alma whispers to Ethan. "She can fall asleep here."

Nodding, Ethan stands up and walks back to the boys, who have by now figured out how to roast their bread perfectly.

He watches all the children intently, to see if any other of them might be unwell but they all seem fine. Even the twins, who have been in the sun as much as Claire. But their masks and light clothes must have protected them better and Claire didn't wear her sun hat today.

Soon the other children get tired as well. Ethan carries Claire to her sleeping mat and has to assure Alma that they will check on her regularly during the night.

And Ethan stays right: Claire sleeps peacefully the whole night and in the morning she feels a lot better. Her temperature is back to normal and her headache is gone. She just feels a bit exhausted from the last day.

Luckily the weather has gotten more bearable and it's not as hot as yesterday. Miss Peregrine, Ethan and the children spend another restful day before they plan to drive to the next camping side the next morning.

The children go swimming again and visit the peacock cage for the last time.

Claire has gotten Miss Peregrine and stated that she won't leave until she sees the peacock fan and also Bronwyn, Fiona and Hugh are really excited. Together with some of the boys, they walk around the fenced area over and over again.

"Miss P.? Why does none of them show it's beautiful feathers?" Claire asks disappointed.

"I don't know, Claire. Maybe they already have their partners ," Miss Peregrine guesses. "You know Claire, they don't do it for fun, they want to impress the females."

"Ok, does that mean, we won't see it at all?" Bronwyn asks.

"That's possible, my dear," Miss Peregrine answers. "But we might still be lucky and one of them is late with his breeding plans."

"Ok, then we have to keep looking," Claire says and runs off around the cage again.

And finally they are successful.

"Here!" Millard shouts as loud as he can. All the children storm towards him and there it is: a male peacock, presenting his fan.

"It's so beautiful!" Claire exclaims while taking Miss Peregrine's hand.

"It is," her ymbryne agrees.

For a short time they all stand there and watch the peacock until he retreats back into the bushes, his feathers lowered again.

"Ohhh..." Bronwyn says sadly.

Miss Peregrine pets her head. "Just be happy that you saw it at all, children," she says and together they walk back towards their tents.

The rest of the children and Ethan have already packed up a few things and started a camp fire. Together they have lots of fun. And for their last day here, Ethan and Alma have planned a surprise for the children. After they have eaten a great dinner with everything the children love, they are going for a night walk.

As the sun has set, they make their way down the path through the fields. The sky is full of stars and the moon casts a magical light on all the flowers around them.

The younger children are easily scared and take Miss Peregrine's, Ethan's or one of the older children's hands.

Enoch and Millard have lots of fun, making spooky sounds and tickling the others, making them think that something else has touched them.

"Stop it, boys!" Miss Peregrine laughs.

"It's alright, children," Ethan calms them down. "Enoch and Millard are just teasing you."

Playfully, Bronwyn punches Enoch, who was just about to startle Fiona again.

"Ouch!" Enoch shouts out, as Bronwyn once more underestimated her own strength.

"Sorry," she giggles. "But it served you right," Claire states and sticks her tongue out at Enoch.

Miss Peregrine laughs while Ethan takes her in his arm, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Also the other couples have found each other and enjoy the romantic atmosphere.

"Look!" Hugh exclaims. "There's a shooting star. Have you seen it?"

"Oh yes!" the other children cheer.

"So now you can all make a wish," Ethan says. "But don't say it out loud," Miss Peregrine warns, winking at the children.

"Have you made your wish?" Jake asks, embracing Emma tightly.

"Yes," she whispers and kisses him passionately.

After they've all enjoyed their little walk and the children are getting tired, they return to their tents.

Groggily they all fall into their sleeping bags and sleep tight until the sun starts to rise again.


	48. Chapter 22 Part V

**Chapter 22**

 **Part V**

As the children leave their tents the next morning, Miss Peregrine and Ethan are already awake and have prepared everything for the breakfast and their departure.

After a quick breakfast, they pack up the rest and get their bikes.

Today's tour isn't too long but it's a lot more hilly than their previous ones. They are leaving a flat area full of fields and while their road winds up a few hills, their environment changes to a rocky landscape.

The weather is still really warm but again nothing compared to two days ago. Nonetheless it's really exhausting for all of them. Especially the younger ones are staying behind more often and also Miss Peregrine needs a few breaks. Therefore the whole group stops regularly.

They sit down a few meters away from the road. Miss Peregrine has prepared lots of great things to eat, that they enjoy. This time she takes good care that all the children wear their sun hats and drink enough water, she doesn't want another one getting sick.

Ethan as well keeps an eye on Alma and makes her drink enough too. He knows that today is really hard for her and that she probably needs more rest than she might admit. Therefore Ethan takes over when they are back on their tandem, so that Miss Peregrine can relax on the bike as well, while he drives up the next hill. But also for him it's a real challenge and makes him sweat a lot.

After many breaks and long, slow and tedious rides up the hills they finally arrive at the camping site at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

It's located on an old stone quarry, whose appearance is now dominated by lots of plants that have reclaimed the ground from the humans as soon as it got closed.

They arrive in the middle of the camping site on a little square. All around are little wooden huts, which together with the old stone walls of the rocks creates the feeling of being in an old Western Movie. In one of the huts is the reception, in another are the bathrooms and in a third is a common room with some couches, tables, a table kicker and a stereo. The rest of the huts are for visitors who want to rent them.

"This looks beautiful, so quaint," Miss Peregrine says as they all descend from their bikes and she looks around. In between the wooden huts are little patches of grass where other visitor have already built up their tents. While all their last camping sites have been nearly empty, this one is rather crowded. Lots of young adults are running around with their sport equipment and other families with their children are sitting in front of their tents.

On the other end of the camping site, a small path winds up the hill, leading to other little patches of grass, free to be used for camping.

"Oh, let's go there!" Hugh exclaims and points at the highest spot.

"It's a bit far away from the centre, don't you think?" Ethan points out. "Besides, it's a long way up the hill to go every time you want to use the loo."

"Maybe..." Hugh has to admit. "But it's the nicest place with the best view," he tries to convince the rest and most of the other children agree with him.

"I'm sorry children," Miss Peregrine cuts in. "But I don't think I will be able to walk up the whole hill multiple times a day and especially not during the night to use the bathroom. But let's take this place, it seems still available," she suggests and points at a lower spot, only one level higher than the wooden huts.

"Okay," the children say reluctantly.

"At least we don't have to carry all our things up the whole hill," Emma tries to lighten the mood and a few children start laughing.

Together they park their bikes in a corner and start pushing and pulling the trailers up the small path, while Ethan once more checks them in at the reception. On their way they see signs saying that other paths lead either to a big field with wild flowers or to a rapid stream through the rocks of the mountain. A few people cross their way, walking back down to the centre of the camping site. Some of them wear wet suits and carry their little boats with them. It seems that this place is perfect for extreme athletes and that they come here from all over Florida.

"Can we go and take a look at this river?" Millard begs. "Yes," Enoch adds. "It seems that it's a lot of fun there."

"Stop children," Miss Peregrine intervenes. "We can go and take a look at it later but I want no one of you going into the water here, have I made myself clear enough?" she warns the children, her index finger raised.

The children nod but especially the boys are disappointed. None of them dare to contradict, though.

Arriving at their camping spot, the children and Ethan start building up the tents and carrying their things inside. Miss Peregrine is sitting on a camping chair, relaxing a bit and enjoying the sight of the camping site from above. She wanted to help the others but Ethan made her sit down, saying that the day was long enough for her. And Alma has to admit that he is right. For the third time today, she feels the Braxton Hicks Contractions and that even if she has tried to drink enough all day and let Ethan ride the bike alone for half of the trip. Furthermore there's also the warm and humid weather. At least it's not as hot as two days ago but it's enough to make it difficult for her. Miss Peregrine already dreads the hot summer when she will be in the late stages of pregnancy.

The rest of the afternoon, the children explore the area. They are only allowed to stay on the camping site, where Miss Peregrine can still see them from above. She promised that they will take a look at the big field and the river together tomorrow.

Inspired by the Wild West feeling, the children start playing cowboys and Indians all together. Again, Ethan and Alma admire their imagination and the ability to still play like children even if they are a lot older in reality.

"I'm glad that they can still enjoy their childhood like this," Miss Peregrine says. "In the future this will change soon enough, now that they are aging like normal children."

"Yes, me too," Ethan agrees while embracing Alma from behind.

"But they will cherish the memories of their long childhood for the rest of their lives and they will always be happy and grateful for the carefree time they could spend under your protection," he continues.

"I hope so, even if it wasn't easy all of the time," Alma sighs and thinks of all the horrible things they experienced but also of all the small things that made them all happy. Again a few tears start leaving her eyes but Miss Peregrine wipes them away quickly and turns towards Ethan, smiling. They kiss each other before preparing the dinner.

Soon Ethan calls the hungry Indians to the camping fire and they all enjoy eating together. But as they are very exhausted from the morning, they can barely keep their eyes open anymore and Miss Peregrine sends them to bed, happy that she can lie down as well.

After a short cuddling session with Claire and the twins, she climbs under the blanket next to Ethan and is asleep before Ethan can kiss her goodnight.

The next day starts once more with lots of sunshine. Having slept long enough, the younger children wake up fairly early. They climb out of their tents and start running around, exploring all the secret places that they didn't see yesterday. And they are not really quiet either, laughing aloud and shouting to each other. The twins are climbing on the rocks next to the path behind their camping spot, while Claire and Bronwyn have found a little cave behind some rocks, that Bronwyn managed to push away.

Soon Ethan and Miss Peregrine get up as well and start preparing breakfast for them.

The weather is good, quite warm again but bearable and less humid - probably because of all the rocky walls surrounding them.

When also the teenagers wake up and join them for breakfast they start planning the day.

"Can we go along the path and take a look at the flower field?" Fiona asks excitedly.

" Oh yes, please, Miss P. My bees haven't had a real meal for ages," Hugh says.

"Oh no, I don't like flowers, can't we rather go to the stream and watch the people there?" Millard argues.

"Children, children, calm down," Miss Peregrine chuckles. "We can do both, right Ethan?" Ethan nods.

"Ok, so let's eat up and then we can go for a walk alright?"

All the children agree and finish eating their breakfast as quickly as possible. Then they get their sun hats and suns screen before their walk can begin. Behind their tents they follow the little path through the stones up the hill, passing other patches of grass with campers residing are mostly adults without any children, having come here for the sport.

On the first intersection they decide to first take the way up to the field instead of to the river. Both of them are circular paths. According to the wooden signs the one to the field is 900 meters long and the other one 800 meters.

After some turns the rocky walls next to the path get lower and are soon gone completely, enabling them to finally see the wide landscape. The path becomes more sandy and leads through the fields, full of flowers.

Immediately Fiona runs off to inspect and smell them all, followed by Hugh, who has opened his mouth to let out all the bees. The younger children run after them, jumping around in the sea of flowers, chasing each other and admiring the most beautiful blossoms.

Also the older ones and Miss Peregrine and Ethan enjoy the nature around them. When living in the city it's a welcome change to be just surrounded by this: no houses or cars or even other people.

Only two times they pass other campers going this path. Most of them seem to prefer the path to the river.

At about half of the walk, they stop for a little break, sitting down in the grass among the flowers.

"This smell is amazing," Olive says while leaning back into Enoch's arms.

"Yeah, maybe," he just mumbles and kisses her, which makes him a lot more happy than all these flowers, which is alright with Olive.

"What is that, Miss P.?" Claire asks from a few meters away. Reluctantly, Miss Peregrine gets up from her comfortable seat on the ground.

"What do you mean, Claire?" she asks in a soft voice, bending down to see what Claire's looking at.

"This," she answers and points a green shape, glued to a stem of a plant.

"It looks like a chrysalis, sweetheart" Miss Peregrine says.

"A what?" Claire asks back and looks up at her ymbryne in confusion.

"It's a butterfly," Millard cuts in and walks up between them.

"A butterfly? Where?," Bronwyn asks excited and comes running towards them as well.

"A butterfly?" Claire asks, too, now even more confused.

"It's about to be one," Miss Peregrine explains to her. "Do you remember where butterflies come from?"

"Yes, they are caterpillars and then after a time of pupation they become beautiful butterflies," Bronwyn remembers suddenly.

"Exactly, my dear," Miss Peregrine says.

"So in this thing, there is the butterfly?" Claire asks, slowly understanding.

"That's right Claire."

"Hey look," Fiona calls them. "Here's another one."

All the children walk over and see another one hanging on the next plant.

"That's great," Millard says and admires the interesting technique the animal used to attach itself to the stem.

"Be careful not to hurt any of them," Ethan says. "If a butterfly came here to place its eggs on the plants, there must be a lot more and the caterpillars usually don't walk too far away."

Carefully the children look around and even find a few more chrysalises.

"Wow, that's amazing, can we stay until one hatches?" Claire begs, jumping up and down next to her ymbryne.

"I'm sorry, Claire," Miss Peregrine says. "But it will probably take too long. Butterflies can stay like this for up to 4 weeks and we don't know when the caterpillar pupated."

"Ohh..."Claire sighs disappointed.

"Come on, let me take a look," Ethan offers and approaches the group around the first plant.

"I don't think that this one will hatch any time soon. In the days before, they usually look a bit more transparent and you can see the color of the butterfly," he explains.

"But if you're lucky, this one may be ready while we're staying here."

Claire and also a few other children smile in anticipation.

"Can we come here and take a look very often, so that we don't miss it," Bronwyn begs.

"We'll try," Miss Peregrine chuckles and pets Claire's and Bronwyn's heads before going back to the others.

They all stay there a little while longer, Claire and Bronwyn showing the chrysalises to all the others who haven't seen them yet and Hugh's bees enjoying their freedom and the tasty flowers.

As some of the children get bored and even a bit hungry they finish the circular path, which leads them back to the path they started on.

"Can we now go to the river please?" Millard and Enoch say a little bit annoyed. The field has been beautiful and the butterflies quite interesting but it's nothing compared to the river.

Unsure Ethan looks back at Alma, who's already a few meters behind them, walking together with Claire and the twins.

"I promised you that we would go there," Miss Peregrine says. "But I'm sorry, I don't think I can still make the second path. Is it alright if we just go to the water and have a look there?"

"When there are some of the athletes it's fine, we don't have to walk all the way," the boys answer.

Relieved Miss Peregrine nods at them. By now she really feels a bit exhausted and her feet are really hurting. But she hopes that she will be able to sit down somewhere near the river while her boys can have their fun.

"Good, because I don't want you going there alone, ok?" she asks and looks especially at all the younger children, who nod.

Together they walk up the small, narrow path around two corners before they can see it: In front of them, behind a railing, 2 meters down in some sort of canyon is the river. Approximately 3 meters wide and with lots of rapids. Among the foam and the waves they can see a few people in their boats, doing their best not to fall out of them.

Amazed the children run towards the railing and watch them.

"How can they do this?" Emma asks. "Isn't it unbelievingly dangerous?"

"I don't know," Miss Peregrine says while sitting down on a stone near the rocky wall behind them. "I would never do it and I don't want any of you trying it as well but if these people are experienced and can assess the danger better than we can, it's alright I guess."

"I'm pretty sure that there are even more difficult rivers than this one. As I can see it from here, the rapids aren't that strong," Ethan explains.

"So you would do it?" Enoch asks interested.

"I've done it a couple of times before, yes, but to be honest, those rivers were even calmer," Ethan says, winking at the children. From the corner of his eyes he sees Alma looking back at him in shock and mild anger.

"But you should never try something like that without enough practice, Enoch. And even I wouldn't try it again as I haven't done it for ages," he tries to save the situation.

Together they keep watching the athletes. Some of them even exit the river to go back to the camping site, but can't pass the group without being bombarded with questions by the children.

"Isn't it really difficult?"

"For how long have you been doing it?"

"Is the water cold?"

"Can everyone learn this?"

But soon Miss Peregrine wants to go back to their tents, she's tired and really needs to use the toilet. Some of the children are a bit disappointed and wanted to stay a little while longer but at least they've seen it all.

Back at their tents, Ethan, Emma and Olive prepare some sandwiches for everyone while Miss Peregrine has sat down and the other children are playing tag.


	49. Chapter 22 Part VI

**Chapter 22**

 **Part VI**

After their lunch, they all go down to the wooden huts. The children want to play in the common room where also some other children are already running around, using all the toys there.

Miss Peregrine and Ethan have sat down in the court, enjoying their free time while the children have found others to play with. A few times, some of the other parents start talking to them, about how lovely it is that all the children are playing together, that they are also happy to have some time to themselves and that they couldn't imagine having as many children as them.

Ethan and Alma have to laugh about it. It's really a funny thought: them having begotten all of the children. Alma would have been only 19 with the first of them and would have delivered nearly one child every year. Something that seems impossible for her now as only this one pregnancy is enough to make her feel that she never wants to endure it again - at least some parts of it.

As nearly all other parents have talked to them and left again, they both take the time to talk about some important things.

"Have by now given any thoughts to the birth itself?" Ethan asks. Confused Alma looks back at him. _What does he mean? Of course has she thought about the birth, how could she not?"_

"I mean about the hospital and the people you want to have around you and all these details," Ethan clarifies. Miss Peregrine shrugs.

"Yes, a little bit but I'm not sure," she says thoughtfully. Ethan doesn't say anything and wants to wait until she keeps talking.

"I'm definitely sure that I want you staying with me, if it's alright with you," she says, looking up at Ethan.

"Of course, I would love too," Ethan smiles.

"But the rest, I don't know. I've been thinking about it, of course," Alma sighs. The thoughts about the birth itself have been troubling her since the pregnancy got really visible and therefore realer.

"I'm scared," Alma confesses silently.

"About the birth?" Ethan asks carefully and takes her hand.

"Yes that too, but I meant for the child." Ethan looks back confused.

"I mean it's all hypothetical but did you know that being peculiar can be inherited?" Miss Peregrine asks.

"I've never thought of it, to be honest but it's plausible," he answers.

"Yes but it's not dominant, that's the reason why a lot of normal parents can get a peculiar child without knowing anything about peculiars."

"You're thinking about the possibility of our child being peculiar," Ethan finally guesses what Alma wants to say.

"Yes," she admits.

"But that's unlikely," Ethan points out. "I mean it's obvious that you would hand down this gene but me? I'm not peculiar and I don't think that I'm a carrier either. I would know, wouldn't I?" Ethan asks confused.

"Not necessarily," Alma insists. "There are more carriers than you would think. Therefore we ymbrynes often find unwanted peculiar children, that we take in. It's very rare that they are born to peculiar parents. And it's also possible that the gene has passed multiple generations in your family."

"So you mean that there has been a peculiar in my family?" Ethan asks amazed.

"I'm just saying that it might be possible," Alma corrects him.

"Ok and what if?" Ethan asks. "What does it have to do with the birth of our child?"

"I'm scared what might happen during the birth if our child should be peculiar. We probably won't be able to keep it a secret. And I'm afraid that I won't be in the state to react on it like I usually do."

"What do you mean, Alma?" Ethan wants to make sure. "Peculiarities aren't always visible and you said that they usually develop in the childhood and aren't there from the moment of the birth."

"Yes but take Claire for example or the twins. What are we supposed to do if the peculiarity is that obvious?" Alma asks desperately, leaning into Ethan's arms for support. This thought has bothered her for some time now but she hasn't felt brave enough to talk about her fear.

"I see what you mean, Alma," Ethan says soothingly, rubbing her back. "That was something I never thought about, I'm sorry. You're right: no matter how possible it is, we need to consider that. But there will be a way," he assures her.

Curious, Alma looks up again.

"We could maybe chose a hospital where I know the staff, so we could talk to them just in case they notice something odd."

"You think that would work?" Alma asks.

"It might but there's always the thought of a home birth, have you and Catherine talked about it?"

Miss Peregrine shakes her head. "No but I've heard of it. I thought it was too dangerous though, don't you think? A hospital provides so much more safety for a newborn."

"That's right, but first we live close to a hospital and second, I'm a doctor and Catherine can be there as well. I'd say that's pretty good for a home birth. Besides, so far your pregnancy wasn't risky. And if that doesn't change it's not more dangerous than in a hospital," Ethan explains.

"Are you sure?" Alma asks again.

Ethan nods. "Definitely and with Catherine, we can wait until the child is born and decide then if we have to tell her your secret."

"That sounds good," Alma sighs relieved. Ethan has just lifted a huge burden from her shoulders.

"See? There's always a way," Ethan says smiling before kissing Alma.

"Thank you!" Alma says gratefully and leans back into Ethan's arms.

During the afternoon, the teenagers want to retreat from the others. Emma and Jake go back to the tents, to relax a bit, while Enoch and Olive want to do the circular path along the river. They ask Miss Peregrine quietly without the others noticing it as they know exactly that some of the children would have wanted to join them.

"Of course you can go," Miss Peregrine answers. She knows exactly that they want to spend time alone and that it's already incredible that they are still playing so much with the younger ones every day, despite their age.

"But Enoch, please be careful at the river. I don't want you to go near the water."

"Sure, Miss P.," both of them answer, smiling at the couple, before they walk up the path.

Holding hands they wander along the railing. By now most of the people have gone back to the camping site, so it's a lot more empty and quiet know. They hear mostly the water and the rushing in the trees as the wind has increased during the last minutes. Soon they walk over a bridge crossing the river. In the middle they stop and watch down at the water.

"The strength of the water is amazing," Olive says dreamily.

"Even more amazing is how the athletes can overcome it and somehow control it and use it for their own purpose."

Thinking about it, Olive nods, deep in thoughts.

While rubbing her back, Enoch looks up at the sky. It has gotten a lot darker all of a sudden and Enoch thinks it will start raining very soon.

"Maybe we should go back," he says and Olive looks up to notice the changed weather as well.

"Yes but it's still quite a bit until we're back as we've walked approximately half of the path now," she points out.

"Ok, then let's hurry," Enoch suggests, winking at her, so they both start walking again. But even before they have crossed the bridge completely, it begins to rain heavily.

Laughing Enoch and Olive start running through the rain. Nowhere around are any trees to seek shelter, so they keep running until the rain gets really strong. Probably it's even better not to stop at a tree as it's starting to be a real thunderstorm and they don't want to get hit by the lightning.

Soon though they realize that they have to find something. They are already soaked and the wind has increased as well, leafs and light branches flying through the air.

"Here!" Enoch shouts, points at the rocky wall on the other side of the path and pulls her towards a gap in between the rocks. Happy to be at least out of the storm and rain, they enter the little cave which is a lot bigger than one would expect from the outside - both of them fit comfortably in it and can even walk upright a bit.

"This is amazing," Olive exclaims. "How lucky we are." Both of them have to laugh out loud until Enoch starts shivering a bit.

"Come here," Olive says and pulls Enoch to sit down in a corner with her. She herself feels perfectly warm, as always and she uses her peculiarity to dry both their clothes and to warm Enoch. They both decide to wait in here until the thunderstorm passes, so Olive starts a little fire next to them with some branches that have been blown inside. It makes them feel warm and comfortable and sheds light in all the corners of the tiny cave.

On the camping site, Ethan, Alma and all the children have run back to their tents as soon as the rain started. Probably it would have been more comfortable in the common room but not all of them would have found room in it and they didn't know how long the storm will last. If it should rain the whole night they wouldn't want to go back to their tents when the rain is even stronger.

Arriving inside, the storm has already increased, so Ethan goes back outside to fasten everything that it's all safe during the storm. All of them gather in the bigger tent, not wanting to be separated.

The little ones are already scared, hearing the thunder form far away. The twins and Claire are sitting on Miss Peregrine's lap or next to her, leaning into her arms. This time even Bronwyn and Fiona are a bit scared, snuggling up to Emma.

"Stop," Miss Peregrine says all of a sudden. "Where are Olive and Enoch, aren't they back yet?"

"They haven't been here since the afternoon," Emma says.

"That means they are still out there in the storm and that even near the river," Miss Peregrine concludes worriedly. "We have to find them," she says and wants to sit up.

"Alma, Alma," Ethan tries to calm her down again. "They are either on their way back here already, you know that the path is long enough, so that it will take them some time until they are here. Or they have found shelter somewhere and are waiting there until it's calmer outside to come back. The path is well secured with the railing and everything. It won't be dangerous and they won't fall into the river, I'm really sure of it, Alma."

"But we can't just stay here and leave them out there, not looking for them?" Miss Peregrine retorts desperately.

"Alma, it won't help if you get soaked too. They have probably decided to stay there to keep dry and it won't be in their interest if you come and get them during the rain," Ethan argues.

"But if something happens to them?"

"What can happen, the storm is not too bad yet, so they would have had plenty of time to look for a save place. And don't forget how old they are. They have endured so much more dangerous situations in their lives, don't you think?"

"Maybe you're right," Miss Peregrine sighs, leaning back against the wall of the tent, comforting the little ones.

"But if they aren't back after some time, we go and look for them."

"Alright, Alma," Ethan agrees. "But you will stay here, I will go."

Defeated, Miss Peregrine nods.

Meanwhile Enoch and Olive are still sitting in their cavernous crevice. Luckily Olive has managed to dry all their clothes and the small fire really keeps them warm.

"What are we going to do now?" she asks.

Enoch shrugs. "I guess we have no other choice than to wait here until the storm passes. Unless you want to get wet again and be knocked down by flying branches," he jokes.

"Not particularly, no," Olive laughs. Even if they are kind of stuck here in this narrow spot and they don't know when they will be able to leave again, but it could be worse. They are both together, dry, warm and save and that's good.

Happily Olive snuggles up to Enoch and lays her head down on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here with me," she says, while closing her eyes and sniffing Enoch's scent, which really calms her down and even makes her a bit tired.

"Me too," Enoch says smiling and kisses the top of Olive's head.

For a little while they stay like that, relaxing and listening to the sound of the fire as well of the rain. But soon the noises form outside get a lot louder.

"That's a really bad storm," Olive points out, now a bit scared.

"Yes, it sounds like it. I bet it has already destroyed a lot outside," Enoch answers thoughtfully.

"Do you think the others are safe?" Olive says suddenly. "I mean we are save here inside the rocks but they only have their tents."

"I'm sure they are safe, too. It's much more sheltered on the camping site, even where we put up the tents," Enoch assures her.

"Good," Olive sighs relieved and wants to relax again but then she hears a loud bang from outside, followed by more loud noises, which come slowly nearer. And then there's a really loud crash next to them.

"What was that?" Olive shrieks and sits up abruptly.

"I don't know," Enoch says unsure and stands up to take a better look. But as he wants to poke his head out of the cave, he can't.

"The entrance is closed," he exclaims as he turns back around, terror audible in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Olive asks scared, not daring to guess what has just happened.

"The noises we heard have probably been falling rocks that came down the stone wall and closed the entrance," Enoch tries to explain his theory.

"And what now?" Olive asks terrified. This has been her biggest fear when hearing the noises.

"I don't know, Olive," Enoch snaps. Now he can't hold back his own fear anymore. He tries to move the rock in front of the entrance but it's way too heavy.

"We're going to die in here," Olive whines.

"Shut up, Olive," Enoch shouts. "We will find a way out." All these pessimistic thoughts don't help at all.

"But how? No one knows where exactly we are. And now that the entrance is closed, no one will expect a cave behind it."

"We could call for help," Enoch suggests.

"But who would hear us, it's way too loud outside, with the storm and also normally with the tumultuous river?" Olive remarks. "The person would have to stand in front of the entrance when we call, only then would it be possible to hear us."

"Probably," Enoch has to admit. "But that's not farfetched. Remember, this is a circular path and I bet that when the rain stops again, the people are going to walk here again. It's just a matter of time, at the longest maybe one or two days."

"But we have to eat and drink."

"We won't starve in just a day," Enoch says and rolls his eyes.

"But we may choke," Olive says angrily. She doesn't like it when Enoch treats her like she's stupid or something.

"The air inside here may be limited and with the fire, the oxygen might be consumed before someone finds us," Olive says again.

Shocked, Enoch turns around again. "Oh shit, I didn't think of that," he says.

"Ok, then let's try to move this stone together," he says and waves Olive to come over.

But they don't achieve anything.

"It's too big and here's not enough space for both of us to grab it properly," Olive sighs and falls back onto the ground next to the little fire.

"No and the only thing I can feel is this little hole there on the ground. But it's way too small for one of us and who knows where it ends. It might not even lead outside." Enoch kneels down to inspect it closer. "But I think that I can feel a little draft here, so maybe it has a connection to outside after all. But it still won't help us. We could only stay here a little while longer when the oxygen runs low," Enoch sighs.

He walks over to the other end of the tiny cave and touches the walls.

"Here is nothing, that would indicate another exit," he informs Olive before sitting down next to her.

"Then we should put out the fire," he says reluctantly.

Olive nods. She doesn't want it to be dark again. It's so much more scary when she can't see what's happening around her but Enoch is right. They need the oxygen more than the light and it's still warm enough without the fire.

After it's dark again, Olive and Enoch lie down on the ground next to each other. They want to sleep a little bit as there's nothing else they can do until the storm is gone and they need less energy and oxygen if they lie there, breathing calmly.

In the tent, the others aren't as calm as Enoch and Olive. Nearly all the children are really scared as the storm has increased. Claire and the twins are desperately clinging onto Miss Peregrine, who's by now so restless, that she has to stand up from time to time and paces around the tent.

Ethan has his hands full with trying to calm them all down.

"It's nothing to be afraid of, children, just the rain and some wind. And we're perfectly save in here. As are Olive and Enoch, Alma, I'm sure of it.

"But what if our tent flies away?" Claire asks sobbing. She's begging for her ymbryne to come and sit down again but Alma just can't.

"It's 8 o'clock now and they've been out there for at least 3 hours," she says desperately. "We need to go and find them, Ethan."

Ethan sighs and let's his hands rake through his hair.

"Alright," he says then. "I will go and look for them."

"I'm coming with you," Jake says immediately.

"No Jake," Emma cuts in. "It's too dangerous."

"Oh, Emma, it will be fine, I promise," Jake says. "As Ethan said, it's just a storm and not my first one. I won't fly away," he jokes which makes at least Hugh and Millard laugh.

"Ok," Emma gives in. "Maybe you're right and we're all overreacting but it really sounds scary outside."

"It does," Miss Peregrine confirms and finally sits down again. Now as she knows that Ethan will go, she feels a bit less restless and concentrates back on the little ones.

"Shush, Claire. Everything will be alright. Try to fall asleep and when you wake up the sun will be shining again," she says soothingly and pets Claire's head. Tired from all the crying, Claire does as told and closes her eyes but the rest of the children are still wide awake and with every thunder or lightning they get frightened and move closer together.

Miss Peregrine and Emma do their best to take away their fear but with little success. Soon only the twins and Bronwyn are also asleep in their arms.


	50. Chapter 22 Part VII

**Chapter 22**

 **Part VII**

Miss Peregrine frees herself from the little ones and starts pacing again. Ethan and Jake have already been gone for 20 minutes and Alma fears that something might have happened to them.

"I'm going after them," she states and wants to leave.

"No, Miss P." Emma exclaims. "You have to stay here, it may be dangerous for you outside and we need you here. Please be sensible and stay. I'm sure they'll return soon, hopefully with the others."

Alma has to admit that her oldest girl is right but she's just too impatient right now. Reluctantly she sits back down, though.

At the river, Ethan and Jake are just running around in the rain. They have taken the circular path, one from each side. Carefully they have run most of the way, now meeting up in the middle again. The storm is even stronger up here and it has already taken a toll on the nature around them. Both had to be careful not to be hit by flying objects or stumble on crashed trees.

"Olive! Enoch!" both of them shout but they get no response. Completely drenched and hoarse from the shouting they have to give up and return to their camping spot. As they enter the tent, Miss Peregrine stands up immediately.

"And?" she asks and looks around confused. "Where are they?"

"I'm sorry, Alma but we couldn't find them. We looked everywhere along the path and shouted for them," Ethan explains.

Alma is devastated, she sinks back to the ground.

"What does that mean? she asks, her voice trembling. "Where else can they be? What if...what if...?" she stumbles.

Still with dripping clothes, Ethan approaches her and kneels down. Taking her face in his hands he looks deep into her glistening eyes.

"Listen to me Alma! The fact that we didn't find them doesn't mean that something happened to them. They can't have fallen into the river or anything, the railing was still intact. I bet they are save and have found a really good shelter. That's surely why we couldn't find them, so no need for panic," Ethan says in a calm voice. But it doesn't help. Miss Peregrine just sobs harder.

"I should have never let them go on their own. It's all my fault."

"It's not, Alma. You can't forbid them to go anywhere alone, they are nearly adults. And no one could have foreseen this thunderstorm."

"We just should have gone and look for them sooner," Miss Peregrine keeps sobbing.

"Hey, Alma," Ethan says and takes her in his arms. Miss Peregrine flinches because of the wet and cold clothes but then leans into Ethan's strong arms.

"We have to keep looking!"

"No Alma it makes no sense while the storm is still so strong. You can't look further than a few meters and wherever they are, they can't hear us calling them and Jake and I are already hoarse from trying."

"But we can't leave them there. Maybe they've found shelter but they can still be injured or something else," Miss Peregrine insists.

Ethan pulls Alma closer to himself and wraps his arms around her shivering body. He may be wet and cold but he can still offer the warmth of his strong body as support.

"I understand what you mean, Alma, but I don't know where else to look and what to do to make them notice us."

For a short moment, they stay like this. Miss Peregrine has to admit that Ethan might be right but the mere thought of one of her children being in danger makes her lose every rationality.

Behind the couple, Jake sits down next to Emma after he has put on some dry clothes. In her arms are lying Bronwyn and Fiona. They are still awake but struggling to keep their eyes open any longer. Emma caresses them with her hands, trying to calm them down but of course they are also afraid of the thunderstorm as well as worried for their siblings.

With time, Miss Peregrine calms down a bit and can think more clearly.

"You're right, Ethan," she says. " It doesn't make sense now, but as soon as it gets just a bit calmer outside we'll set of again and this time I'm coming too."

Ethan doesn't think much of the idea of Alma running around at night in the rain but he also knows that he won't be able to stop her. Therefore he nods before getting up to change his clothes.

Then he makes Alma sit down next to the children again and wraps her in the blanket. The shock was really a lot for her and with Ethan's dripping clothes, she has gotten a bit wet and cold herself. Ethan takes place behind her and embraces Alma, who leans back into him. Jake and Emma are also sitting arm in arm with the girls still sleeping on Emma's lap. The twins and Claire are asleep in the corner and the boys are playing cards together as a distraction, too upset to fall asleep as well. Like this they spend the night until the storm calms down a bit.

In the cave, Olive and Enoch are lying in a similar position as Ethan and their ymbryne. From time to time Enoch has felt a bit cold but as soon as he started shivering, Olive made him feel warm again. Trying to stay as calm as possible, they stayed lying on the ground and drifted off to sleep a couple of times. But the cold and wet atmosphere as well as the fear of choking in there always made them wake up again.

Suddenly they hear a rustling form the other corner.

"What is that?" Olive asks scared and sits up abruptly.

"Shush, calm down," Enoch answers and rubs her back soothingly."It must have been some kind of animal that's usually living in here.

"What animal?" Olive asks not less alarmed.

"I don't know, Olive," Enoch sighs. "Maybe a snail or a spider."

"This sounds much louder than from just such a small animal," Olive points out.

"Ok, then maybe a lizard or something similar, I think I saw a dead one laying around there earlier," Enoch says.

Olive shudders at the thought of an animal climbing on her body without seeing it in the dark.

"Hey, Olive don't be afraid," Enoch says calmly and takes Olive back in his arms. "I bet they are more afraid of us anyway."

For a while Olive relaxes again.

"Is there nothing we can do?" she whispers desperately.

"I'm afraid not," Enoch sighs and turns onto his back. The stone ground is awfully uncomfortable but that's the least of his worries now. The air around them has already gotten thinner and especially on the ground Enoch can feel it when breathing.

They don't know how long they've stayed like this but suddenly, Olive sits up.

"Do you hear it as well?"

"What?" Enoch asks confused.

"The weather, am I imagining it or has it gotten more quiet outside?"

Enoch listens carefully. "You might be right, it seems as if the wind has decreased and also the rain."

"Do you know what time it is?" Olive asks. "It can't be already day, can it?" Enoch shakes his head.

"Then it doesn't matter when it's calmer outside, no one will wander around here at night."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Enoch says.

Now it's Olive who looks up confused, even if none of them can see the other in the dark.

"I bet the others will come looking for us, don't you?"

"I'm not sure," Olive answers. "It's the middle of the night, they're probably asleep."

"Can you imagine Miss P. sleeping while we're gone in the middle of a thunderstorm?" Enoch snorts.

"Ok, you're right," Olive has to laugh, too. "So you think they will come here, now as the storm nearly stopped?"

"I bet they will," Enoch assures her. "Now we only have to think about how to make them notice us."

"What about shouting?" Olive suggests.

"I don't know if they can hear us through the rocks and with the noises of the rapid stream. And you can't forget that the circular path is relatively long, we don't know where exactly they are and we can't keep shouting for hours," Enoch argues.

"What else could we do?" Olive asks puzzled.

"We need to think of something that attracts their attention, even if they are around a few corners," Enoch says.

"But what and how?"

"I don't know," Enoch sighs. "What could we do, while stuck in here."

"What about the small hole near the entrance? We should inspect it further, maybe it has a connection to outside and we can do something with it."

Enoch shrugs. "I don't know what but it may be our only possibility to achieve something."

Both of them get up and crawl to the entrance. Olive places her head above the little hole.

"You were right, I can feel the draft, too."

Enoch gently pushes her aside and reaches into the hole with his hand.

"Damn it," he rants. "It's two small, my arm doesn't fit inside."

"Let me," Olive offers and tries it herself. And she's successful and her smaller arm fits into the hole.

"I can feel something wet," she exclaims. "It must be some grass or wet leaves."

"So there is a way outside, even if it's small," Enoch concludes and Olive nods.

"So what could we do with it?" Enoch asks.

"My arm isn't long enough to reach the outside, I can only feel the crossover from the stone to the grass. I couldn't even wave, which they wouldn't see during the night anyway," Olive sighs.

"That's it!" Enoch exclaims suddenly.

"What?"

"We need light! And outside, a fire won't even take away our oxygen."

"You want me to start a fire?" Olive asks.

"Exactly, and it can burn the whole night, until we're found. And Miss Peregrine would even see it from far away."

"That's a really good idea, Enoch," Olive says. Immediately, she puts her hand back in the hole and lights a flame.

"I'm afraid, it's not a big fire though," she says. "The area around is still way too wet to catch fire and with just my hand I can't do a really big one."

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Enoch admits disappointed.

"And now?" Olive asks.

"We need to find a way to make the fire spread to something else."

"But it's all wet outside. We would need some dry wood or at least a few little branches that aren't completely green," Olive says.

"And you can't reach anything like that?" Enoch asks but Olive shakes her head.

"Ok, then how can we transport any wood there. I think I've seen some dry branches lying here in the corner as well," Enoch says and gets up. "Maybe you could make some light in here, just for a second?"

Olive does as asked, while Enoch gathers some dry things.

"I'm not sure that I can hold them while reaching outside," Olive guesses. "It's really small as it is and my hand barely fits through."

And that's exactly what happens. Olive can't hold even the tiniest piece of wood while trying to reach through the hole.

"Ok, if we can't use the wood from the inside we have to find something outside," Enoch says, still calmly.

Olive can't understand how Enoch can still stay like that, while she herself feels terrified as all their ideas don't work. Deep in thoughts, Enoch paces the room, thinking of something else. And then there it is again - the sound from the corner.

"There!" Enoch exclaims. Please make some light again, Olive."

Enoch walks over to the corner and takes a closer look under the dry leaves lying there.

"Here it is," he says then. "It's really a lizard."

"Ugh...and what are we supposed to do with it?" Olive asks annoyed, pulling her other hand out of the whole again.

"And where again was the dead one," Enoch mumbles to himself and searches the whole ground.

"Ahh there it is," he says finally and starts rummaging in his jacket. Olive gets more confused by the second. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"Wait a second," Enoch says and then he turns around, the dead lizard in his hand, lifted up to present it to Olive.

"Ugh, Enoch, what are you doing with that?" Olive asks but then she understands. The little lizard starts moving, very slowly at the beginning, lifting his head, rolling his eyes, before trying to get free from Enoch's grasp.

"Enoch, you're a genius," Olive says and stands up to hug Enoch briefly. "I didn't know that you're still carrying hearts with you the whole time."

"Only little ones, you never know when it might come in handy, like now," Enoch answers winking at Olive. "But as I said, it's a small heart and I'm not sure for how long it will last, so let's get started."

Both of them crawl to the hole and Enoch places the lizard inside. As he made the animal know what he's supposed to do, the little lizard walks off outside. Enoch hopes that he will do as told as none of them can see what's happening outside the cave.

"If he does everything as I want him to, he's know gathering small branches, hopefully a bit dry as well," Enoch informs Olive. She nods and places her hand back inside the hole. Soon she can feel a pile of little twigs.

"It's working!" she shouts out happily while turning her head back towards Enoch who smiles as well.

Soon the lizard has gathered lots of wood which is now burning brightly, Olive's hand relighting it from time to time.

"Let's just hope that the others will come soon," Enoch sighs and leans back against the cold stone wall.

Meanwhile, Ethan, Miss Peregrine and also Jake have made their way out of the tents again. It's still raining and windy but nothing compared to earlier. Emma has stayed behind again to be there for the other children.

Miss Peregrine leads the small group up the hill to the river. Very quickly she rushes up the steep path and turns a few corners until they are where they took a brief look at the water earlier.

"Alma, not so quick," Ethan calls after her.

"We need to find them, as soon as possible!" Miss Peregrine shouts back and disappears behind another corner of the circular path.

"There!" she shouts suddenly and points to something in the distance.

"What is there?" Ethan asks confused and looks at Jake who shrugs.

"It's her sharp eyes, she always sees things we others don't," he jokes and Ethan has to smile before they both follow Miss Peregrine.

And soon, also they can see it, something bright in the dark of the night.

"It's a fire," Miss Peregrine explains.

"That's strange. That wasn't there earlier," Jake says.

"And how could it? It has been raining the whole time. Nothing should be dry enough to catch fire," Ethan points out.

"It must be them!" Miss Peregrine says and runs the last few metres.

"Olive! Enoch!" she starts shouting for them. But no response.

The three of them approach the little fire, amazed by this sight among all the wet grass.

Then Miss Peregrine notices the little lizard, carrying twigs to the fire. Sometimes, he disappears into a small hole in the ground. Only to come back shortly afterwards with some dry wood. But he's getting more tired, dragging himself towards the fire.

"It must be them," Miss Peregrine says again.

"Olive!"

"Enoch!"

Nothing...

Miss Peregrine shouts louder and also Ethan and Jake join in. As the lizard disappears once more into the hole, Miss Peregrine starts knocking at the stone wall, still shouting her children's names.

Inside the cave, Enoch and Olive start hearing the noises from outside, but they are very faint. None of them can hear that it's their own names that are called.

"Maybe it's them!" Olive says hopefully and starts shouting as well.

"Miss Peregrine! We're here!" she says but her voice is too quiet to be heard through the stone wall.

"Enoch, do something!" she says desperately so Enoch starts shouting as well.

On the other side of the wall, the lizard is climbing up the same rock as Miss Peregrine has knocked at. Ethan was able to make her stop, as the only thing she achieved was making her hands bleed from the sharp stone edges. But now as also the lizard pays special attention to the rock she starts again.

"They are behind this rock, Ethan. I'm sure of it," she says.

Ethan and Jake look up the stone wall.

"You might be right, Alma," Ethan says. "It looks like all these rocks here came down during the storm. They could have buried Olive and Enoch when they found shelter here."

"But why can't they hear us?" Jake asks.

"The wall is probably too thick," Ethan answers and looks at Alma who tries to move the rock in front of her. Then he looks at Jake and whispers. "Or they are unconscious. It's possible that there's not enough air inside if the rocks have closed the entrance well enough."

Shocked, Jake looks at Ethan. Luckily, Miss Peregrine hasn't heard this, which would have made her even more upset, something that Ethan wanted to avoid at any cost.

"I'll go get Bronwyn," Jake says quickly and runs off.

"That's a great idea," Ethan says and approaches Alma to make her stop again.

"Bronwyn will be here soon and then we'll free them, it's gonna be alright," he says and pulls Miss Peregrine away, into his arms.

"We should have gone and look for them earlier," she sobs. "What if they are hurt?"

"I'm sure they are fine," Ethan says. "Olive could still start the fire and I bet Enoch controls the lizard. And if they can still use their peculiarities, they are probably fine."

"I hope you're right!" Miss Peregrine sighs and leans into Ethan. Together they are sitting down on the ground next to the fire, leaning against the stone wall. Suddenly, the exhaustion catches up with Miss Peregrine. In her fear she didn't feel that everything was too much for her.

After only a couple of minutes, Jake and Bronwyn come back together. Miss Peregrine and Ethan get up to make room for Bronwyn. She quickly starts her work and pushes away one stone after another.

Soon she has removed the last one. By now Enoch and Olive have long noticed that they are about to be freed. Soon they are slowly climbing out of the dark hole. They both look dishevelled, their hair and their clothes. They are completely dirty and on both their arms are long scratches, especially Olive's are bleeding slightly.

Immediately Miss Peregrine runs towards them and embraces both in a tight hug.

"Miss P!" Olive says happily but starts crying in her ymbryne's arms nonetheless. Only now does she really understand in what danger both of them have been.

"Thank you!" they say and look at all their rescuers, especially little Bronwyn who's smiling at them, trying to hide her yawn.

"Are you alright?" Miss Peregrine asks worried. Both teenagers nod.

"We're fine," Enoch assures her as Olive's still a bit speechless with all the emotions. "Just thirsty and tired," he adds and they all have to laugh.

"Ok," Miss Peregrine sighs relieved. "Then let's get back to our tents, Emma's surely waiting for us and it has been a long night for us all."

All of the others have to agree and together they make their way back down the path. Enoch and Olive are walking arm in arm, happy about the gentle outcome tonight. And also Ethan has put his arm around Miss Peregrine half supporting her weight as he can see how exhausted she is. Sometimes they has to slow down or even stop for a moment, as Miss Peregrine needs the rest and takes some deep breaths.

Back at the tents, some of the children welcome them back. The boys and Emma are still awake and Fiona woke up as Jake got Bronwyn.

"You're back," she exclaims and walks over to hug Olive and also Enoch. Inside, all of them change their clothes again. Even if the weather is better now it's still drizzling, which, with time, still soaked them all. Afterwards Ethan takes a look at Enoch's, Olive's and Alma's wounds which are luckily just very small and have already stopped bleeding on their own. He cleans them all and distributes plasters for the bigger ones.

After Enoch and Olive have told them parts of their story, how they ended up in the cave and what they did in there, they decide to go to bed as quickly as possible. By now it's already after 12 o'clock and they are all really tired.

"Good night children!" Miss Peregrine and Ethan say before they go over to their own tent. They've decided to leave the little ones in the big tent, to not disturb their sleep.

Most of the children fall asleep very quickly, just the teenagers keep talking for a little while longer before both girls fall asleep in the arms of their boys.

Only Miss Peregrine can't fall asleep. She has lied down immediately after entering their tent but she had to get up and is now pacing the small room, sometimes even exiting the tent and walking around the area between the tents, which is still roofed. She once more complains about Braxton Hicks contractions, which are a lot worse tonight. Ethan knows exactly what's wrong and tries to help her as good as possible.

"Come here and drink something," he offers and they both sit down at the little camping table. But soon, after finishing the second glass, Alma has to stand up again.

"It doesn't help," she sighs and keeps walking around, her right hand gently stroking her baby bump as the 'contractions' are now even slightly painful.

"It has been a bit too much for you tonight," Ethan points out and Alma nods with a strained expression.

The pain gets even worse and Miss Peregrine is really feeling unwell. Furthermore she is getting really scared that she endangered their child by running around and being upset the whole evening.

"Come here," Ethan says and makes Alma sit on his lap, taking her in his arms. Then he places both his hands on her tight stomach, gently massaging it.

"Everything will be alright, Alma," he says in his low, calming voice. He always seems to be able to read Miss Peregrine's thoughts. "This feels like normal Braxton Hicks, nothing more. And the pain is your body's way of telling you to rest more. You simply overdid it today but I'm sure that it won't have other consequences," Ethan assures Alma.

"I hope you're right," Miss Peregrine sighs and places her hands on top of Ethan's, both of them can feel the baby moving despite the contractions. It's a nice feeling and especially for Miss Peregrine it's the reassurance that the child is still fine, even though it's adding to her discomfort right now.

In Ethan's arms, Alma feels slightly better but the pain, even if it's not too bad, is still too strong to relax. After a short while she stands up again and walks around.

"Maybe you should just lie down and wait a bit. Sleep will probably come over you before you notice it," Ethan tries to convince Alma.

But she just shakes her head. "No, I don't think so," she sighs, nearly desperately now. She's feeling beyond exhausted and just wants to lie down but the tightness and the slight pain are keeping her awake and moving.

"Then try to drink some more," Ethan tries again.

"Ok," Miss Peregrine answers and walks back over to the table with the glass of water. "But I think it might not help today."

And she is right. Ethan stays with Alma for some more time, making her drink and sit from time to time, while she's still pacing.

Miss Peregrine can hardly keep her eyes open anymore or stand upright from exhaustion but the pain remains.

"Is there nothing else that might help?" she asks desperately.

"I don't know," Ethan answers and stands up again, also pacing and running his fingers through his hair. "I didn't learn that in Med school. Is there nothing that Catherine or my mother told you?"

"At home I would try taking a bath, that is apparently the last trick but that's not possible right now, is it?" Alma says sarcastically.

"Maybe not," Ethan answers thoughtfully and walks over to hug Alma again. But she can't stand his proximity right now as another wave of pain hits her. It's not very bad and she knows that the birth will be much harder. But right now, after this day and with the fear of going into preterm labor it's enough to make her feel like this.

Ethan can understand her and tries to think of something to help.

"I've got an idea!" he exclaims suddenly and disappears into the big tent. Miss Peregrine is confused about it but is way too busy with herself to keep thinking about it.

Only a couple of seconds later though he returns again, followed by Olive, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"What were you doing?" Miss Peregrine asks.

"I told you, I got an idea," Ethan repeats and leaves the roofed area between the tents. By now the rain has finally stopped but around it's still very wet with puddles everywhere. Ethan walks behind one of the tents, where he secured the dinghy earlier to keep it from flying away. During the thunderstorm it got filled with water.

"Come over here," he calls back to the two others. Olive who already knows Ethan's plan, joins him and kneels down next to the boat, placing her hand inside the water.

As Miss Peregrine arrives behind them, the surface is already steaming.

"Ta-dah! Your bathtub," Ethan presents proudly and also Olive gets up and smiles at Miss Peregrine, who looks surprised.

"Wow, thank you!" she says and squeezes Olive's shoulder.

"It was no problem," Olive retorts yawing. Miss Peregrine smiles at her lovingly. "Up to bed with you now," she says, winking at her.

After Olive has gone back into the tent, Ethan helps Miss Peregrine taking off her night gown and stepping into the boat - bathtub. After only a short moment, Alma already feels better and with a bit of time, the pain is gone and also the tightness has decreased.

As she's nearly fallen asleep, Ethan gets a towel and helps her out. After she's dry and dressed again, they both go into their tent and lie down.

"Thank you so much," Miss Peregrine says half asleep. "You're wonderful and this idea was so crazy and so good at the same time."

"I'll do anything for you, you know that," Ethan says jokingly and plants a kiss on Alma's forehead, before she finally drifts off into a peaceful and well deserved sleep.


	51. Chapter 22 Part VIII

**Chapter 22**

 **Part VIII**

The next morning all of them sleep very late, exhausted from last night's events. Miss Peregrine is so tired that she sleeps through until 11 o'clock, which is incredible for her. And even then, she stays in bed a little while longer, enjoying the time on her own, just doing nothing and feeling fine again. Ethan woke up a bit earlier and stood up to not disturb Alma as well as preparing breakfast for everyone.

Soon the children join him one after another and as Miss Peregrine hears them all outside, eating and laughing again she gets up, too.

The storm has destroyed a lot last night and on the camping site are a few people running around and repairing all sorts of things. Other campers are wandering around, looking for belongings, they have lost last night. And still others , who have moved down to the wooden huts for the night, carry all their things back up the hill to the most wanted and beautiful but also exposed places.

Luckily, Miss Peregrine didn't want to put their tents up there and Ethan has secured everything well enough, so all their things are still unscathed.

After the breakfast, they walk around the camping site, looking at the consequences of the storm, before going up the hill again. The river has lots of water today and seems even more rapid. Therefore nearly no athletes can be seen in the water at the moment.

All around are lying branches, leaves and stones, fallen down during the storm. Enoch and Olive show the other children the cave, they were hiding in.

Afterwards they walk up to the fields once more. The children really wanted to take a look at the butterflies again and some of them were really scared that the storm has hurt them.

Luckily, they find all the chrysalises and they seem still intact.

"They are so beautiful!" Claire and Bronwyn say again.

"Here look at this one, Ethan. It looks transparent enough, doesn't it?" Fiona says, pointing at one near a small tree.

Ethan walks over to her and takes a look. "Yes, Fiona! You're right. I would say this is about to hatch."

"Oh, yes, can we please stay here and wait?" Claire begs.

"I'm not sure about that," Ethan answers. "It can still take a few hours and we can't sit in front of it the whole day."

The girls look down disappointed. "Probably not," they have to admit.

"Come here, all of you!" Millard shouts from a little distance. The others have to look around a couple of times to find him, as he's not wearing anything but his shoes and hat. Then they rush over to him.

"Careful," Miss Peregrine warns them all.

Arriving next to Millard they see what he means. In front of him at a little branch, hangs another chrysalis. But this time it's empty.

"Has this one hatched already?" Claire asks enthusiastically.

"It has," Ethan confirms.

"Are there more like this, Millard?" Fiona asks and starts looking around.

"I haven't seen them but it doesn't mean they are not there," Millard answers and soon all of them are walking around carefully, looking at every plant.

Finally Bronwyn finds something.

"Here," she calls the others. "This one is open, but the butterfly is still there."

"Wow," the others say. They are all amazed by this sight: A little butterfly, still crinkled and not unfurled."

"Well done, Bronwyn!" Miss Peregrine praises her.

"Yes, this one has just hatched. It will take some time for him to unfurl and his wings to harden before he can finally fly," Ethan explains.

"How long will it take?" Miss Peregrine asks interested.

"Maybe one hour or a bit more," Ethan guesses. "But I think it depends on the race."

"Can we please watch it fly?" the girls beg again.

" We can do that," Miss Peregrine promises, smiling at her children.

All the children, who are interested, stay with Miss Peregrine to watch the butterfly, while the few others go back to the river and then to the camping site with Ethan, where they help the other people with their cleaning.

It doesn't take too long before the butterfly starts unfurling. He's very beautiful with bright colours and filigree wings. Soon he begins to flap them and starts flying from plant to plant before taking off into the sky. A few minutes longer, the children and Miss Peregrine can watch him, following him even through the fields, but then he disappears and none of them can detect him again.

A little while longer they stay there and enjoy the atmosphere.

After lunch, the children and both adults spend a relaxed day before they plan to change the camping site one last time on the next day.

After another restful night, they pack up all their stuff and cycle to their next destination.

It's another beautiful area, this time with lots of water. All around them are swamps with little islands of solid ground. Even the little places, where they can put up their tents are linked with small wooden bridges.

After they've settled in once more, they spend some enjoyable last days. One big event is the canoe tour, they do together. It's quite humid and there are lots of mosquitoes but apart from that they spend a great afternoon.

Claire even swears that she saw a baby alligator in the water, but no one else can confirm it. Even if Ethan says that it might theoretically be possible.

Miss Peregrine just hopes that it's not true, otherwise she would have had a heart attack as Millard fell into the water, after fooling about with Hugh and Enoch on their boat.

On the last evening of their holidays, they all sit together at their campfire, enjoying some delicious food, laughing and singing songs.

"We should do this more often," Olive says as they are just enjoying this special atmosphere.

"Maybe we can do it at home as well," Millard suggests.

"Yes, of course, that's a great idea!" Ethan replies, while stroking Miss Peregrine's arms as she's lying on his lap. "When we're all living at my place, we can do it regularly. Remember, that I have a big fire place in the garden."

"So we're really moving to you?" Millard wants to make sure.

All the children look at Miss Peregrine questioningly. Ethan too, as he's now slightly afraid that he said too much. The both of them have decided on it a few weeks ago but with everything else going on, they haven't talked to the children yet.

"We are," Miss Peregrine confirms smiling at them all. "As Jake's parents will return soon, we would have had to find another place anyway and Ethan kindly offered that we could move in with him."

All the children begin to cheer and start talking to each other, the twins clapping their hands in joy.

"That's right," Ethan adds. "But it was no question for me. We're all family now and soon with the baby I think we should all live together. That's if you want that, too."

"Of course we do!" Emma says and all the children cheer again.

"Is there enough room in your house, though?" Enoch asks thoughtfully after a while.

"I think my house is big enough for us all but we might have to reorganize and renovate a bit," Ethan explains.

"When are we moving?" Claire asks curiously.

"Are we sharing our rooms like we do now?" Fiona wants to know.

"Children, not so many questions at the same time," Miss Peregrine laughs. "But no Fiona, not like now. There won't be enough space for everyone to have a room alone but there won't be more than two children per room either."

"Can we choose the ones we're sharing our room with?" Bronwyn asks excitedly.

"Oh yes, I want to stay in a room with Millard," Hugh exclaims.

"Children, children," Miss Peregrine cuts in again. " We will talk about it all when the time comes but that won't be until Jake's parents are back, alright?"

All the children nod.

"Ok then let's enjoy the rest of our holiday tonight," Ethan suggests which improves the mood immediately.

The rest of the evening they keep laughing and making music together. Later on, Ethan starts telling short scary as well as funny stories. The little children are a bit afraid and immediately seek Miss Peregrine's arms or lap but at the same time they are as curious to hear the story as the older ones.

Afterwards Ethan tries to do some tricks with the fire, although as Olive joins him, he has to admit that he's not good at all. Amazed he watches what Olive can do, as do the other children, and in the darkness of the night it looks just magically.

As she's done, Ethan begins to dance around the fire like he was a witch on her broom, soon joined by some of the children.

Very late at night, as Claire has already fallen asleep on Miss Peregrine's lap and also the others have trouble, keeping their eyes open any longer, Ethan decides that they should all go to sleep.

"Tomorrow we'll still have the way back home, which isn't just a short hop, remember that."

Happy and content, they all go to bed. Millard still wants to talk to Hugh and Emma wants to snuggle up to Jake. But they are both asleep before Millard can finish a sentence and Emma has placed a single kiss on Jake's mouth.

Also Miss Peregrine falls asleep quickly today, happy but also exhausted. It was a long camping trip, not always easy for her but she wouldn't want to have missed only one thing of it.

The next morning, the adults get up early to prepare everything as they have a train to catch around noon. As the breakfast is ready, Miss Peregrine goes waking up the children. They are all still tired and want to stay in 'bed' longer but know that they have to get up.

Sleepily they trudge out of the tents and take their seats around the table, not very talkative this morning. After they've finished eating, they all start packing up their stuff. An hour later they are back on their bikes, fully loaded trailers behind them.

The bike trip is a lot more quiet and not so playful as their first one. The adults can see that the children are all tired. It has been a wonderful, long holiday, that they all enjoyed. Of course it was also exhausting from time to time, like every big trip and especially the last week has been a challenge for Miss Peregrine as she now really feels the pregnancy and has had more trouble getting enough sleep at night.

And even some of the children, despite the fun they all had, started missing their home in the end and Claire and Bronwyn have been looking forward to seeing their pets again for days.

Nonetheless their camping trip was great and a fantastic break from at home but it was just long enough to learn to appreciate their good old everyday life again.

For a little while they keep cycling through woods, swamps and fields. Ethan has planned for them to reach the next big city where they will take the train back home. As they have travelled southward most of the time, they will have a longer train ride than on their first day.

The last miles before the train station, the children are at their best once more and start a little race. All of them, Miss Peregrine and Ethan included, give their best, cycling as fast as possible to be the winner. Laughing a lot and shouting funny, empty threats at each other, they cover the rest of the distance.

In the end, it's the tandem of Enoch and Olive that arrives first on the parking space at the train station, followed by Jake and Emma as well as Bronwyn.

"That was unfair!" Millard and Hugh exclaim."We had to pull a trailer each and also for Bronwyn it's much easier!"

"But Bronwyn is also just the third one," Emma argues. "And Jake and I had the trailers behind us, too. It was pure luck, that Enoch and Olive won."

"Don't be such a sore loser," Olive laughs before Enoch goes over to her and kisses her.

Miss Peregrine, Ethan and the little ones are the last ones to arrive. As it's already a bit crowded on the parking space with all the bikes and trailers in addition to the cars, it's not such a good idea, that Claire and the twins are still racing each other till the end. Arriving among the others, the twins crash into one of the trailers, both falling off the bikes onto the pavement. Shouting out in shock and maybe pain they land on the hard ground and start crying. All the other children look at them, still not understanding completely what has just happened.

Miss Peregrine, who has just arrived with Ethan, jumps off their bike and runs over to her little boys, hugging them tightly until they stop crying. Luckily they are not really hurt, apart from some little, slightly bleeding scratches on their knees. Miss Peregrine comforts them and covers their knees with some plasters, before helping them up again.

"Ok, when you're all fine again, we should probably go now," Ethan says. "Our train leaves in 15 minutes and we still have to get all our stuff inside."

Hurrying, the children push all their bikes to the right platform, while Miss Peregrine follows with both twins holding her hands.

During the train ride most of the children sleep somewhere in the corner, exhausted from their bike race. Some of them sit at the table and play cards, while Miss Peregrine and Ethan sit together, talking.

The twins are sitting in Miss Peregrine's arms, still needing their ymbryne because of their earlier shock and their stinging scratches.

"It was a perfect trip, thank you Ethan. For the idea and for talking me around to do it now," Miss Peregrine says smiling, while petting the twins heads.

"It really were some fantastic days and not all credit belongs to me, you did as much as me and all the children were just perfect," Ethan says happily. Both of them smile at each other.

"At least we still have the weekend before school starts again," Ethan says after a while and looks around their cabin. "Looks like the children will need it and to be honest, as do I."

"Yes, me too," Miss Peregrine laughs. "And I don't know how we'll manage to get back into our normal daily rhythm again after these weeks." She lets her head fall back and leans against the wall of the cabin, deep in thoughts, thinking about their near future.

"Don't worry Alma, it will probably just happen on its own," Ethan assures her but her serious mood doesn't change and she keeps looking at the ceiling.

"What are you really worried about?" Ethan asks and approaches her a bit to stroke her arm as he can't hug her with one of the twins between them.

"I don't know," Miss Peregrine sighs. "I guess I'm scared."

"Scared of what?" Ethan wants to know and looks at Alma compassionately.

"I'm not sure," she continues. "Everything. The pregnancy, my duties at home, the children, moving to your house...". While listing all her worries, Miss Peregrine keeps gesturing with her hands, her movements getting quicker until she lets her hands fall back to her side, careful not to wake up the twins. It's then, that Ethan can see some tears shimmering in her blue eyes.

"Hey, hey, what brought this on?" he asks in a soft voice and comes even closer, cupping her face with both his hands and turning it to look at him.

Miss Peregrine just shrugs, allowing more tears to appear in her eyes, making one slowly fall down her cheek. Ethan wipes it away with his thumb before planting a kiss on her lips, that Alma was pressing against each other, trying to keep her from completely breaking out in tears.

She enjoys the kiss though and it gives her some of the strength back. As Ethan pulls away again, he looks into her eyes, trying to find an answer.

"Maybe just the hormones," Alma guesses and returns a forced smile.

"I understand that you're afraid," Ethan answers. "This is all new to you, as it is for me. And sometimes it makes me freak out as well. But then I remember that we're together and that you've managed to bring up so many children on your own, so what could go wrong now? "

Alma looks at Ethan thoughtfully, trying to understand what he's telling her.

"As for the pregnancy, everything was alright so far and I'm pretty sure that nothing will change during the next months. Of course it won't be easy the whole time, but I'm there for you! Whatever you need, just tell me and I'll be there, alright?" Ethan asks while stroking Alma's cheek.

Relieved, Alma nods, her eyes still damp but the smile on her lips now more genuine.

"And the house moving, you don't have to worry about that. Me and the boys will do everything."

"And what if it's getting too much for you, living with us permanently?" Miss Peregrine fears.

"Nonsense, Alma! I've told you so many times that I love you as well as the children and now we're going to be parents. I would never want to live apart from you all and our baby, do you understand that?"

Miss Peregrine nods, grateful for Ethan's answer. "I know, but sometimes all these worries just come over me and I can't help feeling so alone and unsure," she explains.

"You were right," Ethan answers. "it's because of the hormones. But if you need it, I will repeat it every time you feel like that, alright?"

"Yes, thank you," Miss Peregrine answers and can now really smile again.

"I will have to work a lot during the next months though as I want to take some time off when the child is there. But nonetheless you can count on me and I'll be at your side every day. And I bet that also the children will be fine with everything. They've also told you a couple of times that they are happy about you being pregnant and that they look forward to having the baby around. And the teenagers will be supportive, I'm really sure of that!"

"I know," Miss Peregrine sighs and has to laugh about herself now. Sometimes she's just behaving ridiculously.

"Another thing that will come up in the next weeks are the antenatal classes. It's about time to begin with them," Ethan suggests and Alma nods, now thoughtful again.

"If you want to, I'll go with you every time and if you want to go alone that's also fine," Ethan says.

"I would love you to accompany me," Alma says honestly. "After all we'll both need to be prepared for the birth, that is if you still want to be there."

"Of course I will," Ethan insists which makes Miss Peregrine smile at him. She's really happy about having Ethan at her side and couldn't imagine any of this without him.

"But you're right, we need to be prepared for the birth so during the next month we should talk to Catherine about your wish of giving birth at home and make preparations for everything, like things we will need, maybe even talking to a midwife if Catherine thinks we'll need one and all the rest."

Miss Peregrine takes a deep breath. This is all very complex but she's just happy that Ethan is there and that they will go through all of this together.

"Ok, yes I will, the next time I see her," Alma answers. Relieved, she leans back against Ethan, rearranging the twins on her lap and side so that she can lay her head down on Ethan's shoulder. He gently lays his arm around her and kisses her forehead, before leaning his head on hers. Like this, they fall asleep, both tired from the last days and the bike trip as well.

Shortly before they arrive at their final stop, they wake up again. Carefully, Miss Peregrine wakes the twins. Sleepily they open their eyes and start sitting up. But as soon as they are trying to stand up, they feel their scratches again and keep clinging onto their ymbryne.

"Hey, boys," Miss Peregrine says. "It's not that bad. I'm sure it stings a bit but you're two brave little boys, right?"

Reluctantly, the twins stand up and let go of Miss Peregrine's hands. She and Ethan go around the cabin and wake up the other children before getting the bikes and trailers ready.

After leaving the train, all of them push their bikes through the train station. As it's late afternoon, it's much less crowded and all the little stores are already closing. This time the children are also less excited about everything and just follow the adults through town.

Some of the time they drive but mostly they just push their bikes, too tired to pay attention to the city traffic.

At home they carry their things inside all together. Then Miss Peregrine starts preparing something for dinner while Ethan and the teenagers return all the bikes and trailers Ethan has rented. The other children are supposed to clear away all their toys from their trip but they are rather fooling around or arguing about something until Miss Peregrine puts her foot down and they all pull themselves together.

At the dinner table, Miss Peregrine asks the children how they liked the camping trip. Despite their tiredness, their faces light up immediately and they all start talking at the same time.

"Great!"

"It was perfect!"

"It was the best holiday we ever had."

"It was wonderful, thank you so much!" Emma says.

"We had lots of fun and saw so many places," Fiona adds.

"That's great to hear," Miss Peregrine says happily.

"We also had some perfect days, right?" Miss Peregrine looks back at Ethan who nods.

"It was a really good holiday and very relaxed," he says.

"That's right," Miss Peregrine agrees. "You were very good and behaved well, thank you."

"But it was the last relaxed and carefree time for some months or more," Ethan points out.

Some of the children look disappointed, so Miss Peregrine glares at Ethan.

"What Ethan meant, was just that there's a busy time ahead of us but I promise you that there will still be time for fun!" she says.

"Of course," Ethan agrees and turns to Alma. "But I think that they should know that it will also be difficult." Miss Peregrine looks down at her plate and nods defeated.

"We know," Emma cuts in.

"Yes, we do," Olive adds. "It will be difficult for you before and after the birth but we're here to help, right?"

All the children, especially the teenagers agree.

"You see, Miss P., you're not alone and we're all mature enough to lend a hand, no matter what it is."

"Thank you, children," Miss Peregrine replies. She's feeling grateful to have such great and helpful children. And her biggest fear has always been that the pregnancy and the new child will compromise her children's happiness.

Claire stands up and climbs onto Miss Peregrine's lap.

"Don't worry about it," she says. "We're all happy about the baby and I don't care if it's getting more busy around here, I'll always help you"

Miss Peregrine has to smile. "Thank you, Claire! That was a really nice thing to say," she says and hugs her little girl.

"Ok, now that we've talked about this for the hundredth time as it seems, can we agree that everything will work out and that we're all in this together?" Enoch suggests and everyone agrees.

After they've cleared the table together, all of them go to bed. No child asks to see a movie today, way too tired to keep their eyes open any longer.

Miss Peregrine tucks in the younger children but they've already fallen asleep before she can give them a goodnight kiss. Then she says goodnight to the older ones, who assure her once more that the camping trip was great and that she shouldn't be afraid of the future as they will always be there to help her.

Grateful and happy Miss Peregrine goes to bed, where Ethan is already waiting for her. Lying down in his arms she takes a deep breath, inhaling his scent.

"I love you," she breathes.

"I love you too," Ethan answers and kisses her.

"Everything will be wonderful, Alma, I'm sure of it," he says then.

"Thank you," Alma says. "For being here, being so optimistic and for the great last weeks.

"Always my pleasure," Ethan retorts quietly and tightens the hug. "Because when you're happy, I'm happy and seeing you smile is the best thing in my life now," he adds but Miss Peregrine is already barely listening. Subconsciously perceiving it though, her lips form a smile, just before she falls asleep.


	52. Chapter 23 Part I

**Chapter 23**

 **Part I**

"And what are you doing now?" Emma asks desperately.

She is sitting on her bed and Jake is slowly walking over to her.

"I don't know," he sighs while sitting down next to her, taking her hand.

It's a Saturday afternoon and Jake has just gotten a call from his parents.

"What exactly did they say?" Emma wants to know.

"They are doing one last trip to Ghana and to the Ivory Coast after finishing with their tour around the northeast of Africa. And then they will return, which will be in approximately 8 weeks," Jake reports.

"Oh, so soon," Emma says thoughtfully.

"Yes, they said they have enough from being away and are looking forward to a steady life at home again. They also asked about Miss Peregrine and when the baby will be born, not sure how it will be here with us all but I told them that Miss Peregrine has already planned to move out."

Emma looks sad and doesn't answer, so Jake approaches her even more and lays his arm around her.

"Hey, it doesn't have to mean anything," he says. "We can still be together."

"But we won't live together anymore, will we?"

Jake flinches at Emma's cold voice, filled with disappointment and blame.

"I don't know," he shrugs. " I don't want to live without you anymore, but at the same time I can't move out from my parents. After all we've been through I just can't do that to them, at least not yet."

Emma sighs and looks down at her lap. Both of them are quiet for some time.

"I know," Emma admits finally, barely audible though.

Jake takes her back in his arms and Emma rests her head on his shoulder.

"We need to tell Miss Peregrine about it though," Emma continues after a while. " She and Ethan need to know and plan everything for moving to him."

"You're right, " Jake agrees and sits upright again. "And Emma," he starts and cups her face. "We will find a way, ok?" Jake looks into Emma's eyes, looking for her understanding maybe.

Slowly Emma nods and her lips curl slightly upwards, so Jake brings her face closer to his and kisses her. That's all the reassurance, that Emma needs and she can't help but feel better already.

After this little intimate moment between the young couple, they decide to join the adults in the living room, to inform them about the return of Jake's parents and to talk everything over.

Ethan and Miss Peregrine have invited Catherine over for coffee and cake. They haven't seen her since returning from the camping trip last week and wanted to catch up with her as well as organizing things for the birth.

"You look really good," said Catherine as soon as she saw Alma. "So the trip was good for you?"

Miss Peregrine laughed, while looking at Ethan.

"It was fine," she said then. "Although I have to admit that it was really exhausting for me from time to time."

"Of course," Catherine agreed. "But believe me, that's completely normal. Other women feel the same and even if they're not on holiday. Did anything happen, that I should know of?"

"Nothing major," Miss Peregrine answered. "I had a couple of Braxton Hicks contractions and one very eventful evening they got pretty bad, but since then everything was fine again."

"Ah, ok. But that can happen, especially when you overdo it, Alma" Catherine said.

Then Catherine wanted to know what they did during the trip and how it was with the children. She loves children and is always very interested in them. Happily, Ethan and Alma told her everything.

"But there's something else, we wanted to talk to you about," Ethan continues afterwards. Curiously, Catherine looks at the couple.

"Yes, what is it?" she asks.

"It's about the birth," Ethan says, knowing that Alma would rather have him talking about it than herself. Of course she's close with Catherine and she trusts her and Alma has never been very shy, at least not since being a trained ymbryne. But this whole pregnancy stuff makes her just too insecure and with medicine in general, she doesn't know what to say, so she'd rather let Ethan talk about that.

"We talked about it during our holidays and Alma would like to have the child at home if it's possible," Ethan informs Catherine about their decision.

"Oh, do you?" Catherine asks and looks at Alma, who nods shyly.

" I wouldn't have thought, you never said anything. But sure, so far I see no reason why we can't do that. We have to wait with the final decision though. If everything stays fine until the 37th week it will be alright," she says happily.

"Do you want the children to take part in it?" Catherine asks interested.

"Oh hell, no," Miss Peregrine laughs. "At least not more than necessary!"

"We just thought that it's more comfortable than in the hospital right?" Ethan says and looks at Miss Peregrine, who agrees.

"And with me and you here, the risks are quite assessable, aren't they? And you will be here, right?" Ethan asks one of his oldest friends.

"Yes, of course. I mean from what I know now it's perfectly fine. Both Alma and the child are healthy. And you're right, even if something might happen, we two will be a perfect team," Catherine confirms.

"Right, I've nearly forgotten that you also did the neonatal training after your residency. Then it will be no problem," Ethan says laughing.

"Exactly," Catherine answers and playfully winks at Ethan.

Miss Peregrine takes a deep breath in relief. To be honest, she has been a bit nervous to ask Catherine, fearing that she might have to explain her reasons. But now it was so much easier than she thought.

"Would you suggest having a midwife as well or can we manage alone?" Ethan asks then.

Catherine shrugs." Don't you want to have one?" she asks confused. She has never discussed it with Alma but thought that it will happen soon.

"I think if you say it's alright without, we don't need one, right Alma?" Ethan says, looking at Miss Peregrine. Again she nods.

"But midwifes can be really helpful .Before, during and after the birth," Catherine points out.

"I know," Ethan answers. "And before and after the birth sounds really good. But if it's possible we'd rather have only you with us during the birth."

"Okay," Catherine answers and looks at Alma to see what she thinks about it but she just looks at the cup of tea in her hands. Alma feels guilty for lying to Catherine or keeping a secret from her, but she's not ready to tell her about all their secrets either.

"I would really appreciate it," Alma answers honestly, finally looking at Catherine. "Or do you think it unwise?"

"No, Alma, it's fine," Catherine answers. "They do know a few tricks that I don't, I guess but the safety of you and the child aren't compromised. I understand your wish for only having people you really know around you. But you still have some time to rethink everything. Even if you decide about it later on, I can find a perfect midwife for you."

"Thank you, Catherine," Alma says gratefully and gently squeezes her friend's hand as a sign of gratitude.

"You're welcome," Catherine answers happily. "Anything else you want to talk about?"

"No," Miss Peregrine laughs. "I think that's enough for today."

"Definitely!" Ethan agrees smiling.

"Ok, then let's see what these two want," Miss Peregrine says and turns her head to face Jake and Emma who have taken their seats on the other end of the table a couple of minutes ago.

At arriving in the living room and finding the adults deep in conversation, the two have locked eyes with their ymbryne, asking for a silent permission to stay with them and Miss Peregrine had nodded before continuing their talk. She has no real secrets from her children, especially not from the teenagers. And the birth is something that concerns them all, so they can take part in the planning as well, or at least hear what the adults plan.

With all the attention suddenly turned to them, Jake starts stammering.

"Um...err...there's something we have to tell you," he starts before Emma takes over.

"Jake's parents called and they are coming back soon," she breaks the news.

"Oh," Miss Peregrine answers. She has known that it will happen soon, but with everything else going on, she has slightly forgotten about it. "Did they say when exactly?"

"In approximately 8 weeks but they haven't booked a flight yet, so they will call again when they have more information. They just wanted me to know," Jake explains.

"That's soon though, but it's fine, we just have to organize a lot until then," Miss Peregrine says thoughtfully.

"Yes, but I told my mother about everything. She doesn't expect you to move out before they come. I shall tell you to take all the time you need and especially not to rush anything and have too much stress," Jake says quickly.

"That's very nice, thank you Jake," Miss Peregrine says nodding at her teenagers. "But we'll try to arrange everything in time, right Ethan?"

Immediately, Ethan looks up from his coffee. In his mind he was already planning everything.

"Oh, yes of course. There is a lot to do, but I think we'll manage," he says winking at Jake and Emma.

Emma has been silent the whole time, something her ymbryne has noticed immediately and she also thinks she knows the reason for it.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Jake asks the adults, feeling slightly guilty for breaking these news to them.

"We have to plan a few things and then we need to rearrange and renovate some rooms in the house, I haven't used them for years," Ethan says. " I thought we boys and men can take care of that," Ethan suggests.

"Yes, definitely," Jake agrees immediately.

"And then we'll have to pack all our things here and move them to Ethan's house," Miss Peregrine adds.

"Our house, my dear Alma. It's our house now," he teases her, smirking.

Suddenly the terrace door bursts open and all the children come running inside.

"Miss P.!" they start shouting and run towards the adults.

"Look what we've found outside," Claire says while Fiona walks over to their ymbryne and shows her something in her hand.

"Oh, a little frog," Miss Peregrine smiles and takes a closer look at the tiny animal on Fiona's outstretched hand.

"It seems that he is only a few days old," Millard says.

"That's a really nice thing to see, all these little things in nature. Not many children, living in the city get to experience that," Miss Peregrine points out and winks at her children.

Seeing them so happy with just something small like that, makes Miss Peregrine really proud of her children and even a little bit of her educating as well. Something she would have been devastated by were spoiled children who just spend their time inside the house with just the computer, the TV or their phones.

"You know what?" Catherine says. "I'm coming with you and we'll take Ethan with us. Then we can put the frog back where you found him and maybe even see a few others."

Excited the children are running back outside, they love spending time with Catherine, she's always funny.

Reluctantly also Ethan stands up from his chair, following the twins while Bronwyn and Claire are taking Catherine's hands and pull her with them. She can only turn around at the others and shrug, laughing.

"Thank you, " Miss Peregrine mouths, grateful, that her friend found a way to give her some time alone with her teenagers. She knows exactly what these news mean for them and especially Emma is already in a bad mood.

"Do you want to drink something as well?" Miss Peregrine offers but they both shake their heads.

"Ok, then let's just talk. I can guess what's bothering you," she says and directly addresses Emma, who just keeps looking down at her lap.

"And Jake I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you."

Jake nods and then sighs. "I haven't had time to think about everything yet but I've got no idea how I should decide. I don't want to hurt anyone, not Emma, you and the children and not my parents."

"I know," Miss Peregrine says compassionately. "But Jake, please know that I will understand you, no matter what you decide and the children will have to learn to live with your decision, too."

Jake nods again, happy about the sympathy of their ymbryne.

"But I also understand that it's difficult for Emma," Miss Peregrine continues.

"Difficult," Emma huffs and for the first time she looks up at the others. For her, it feels just like déjà vu. She finds just the right one and lives with him, but suddenly he just disappears again. She also knows that she's overreacting and that this time, with Jake, it's all different. They have gotten a lot closer than she had with Abe and even if Jake should decide to stay with his parents he won't be gone, they will still see each other regularly. But nonetheless she can't help but feeling abandoned.

"Emma!" Miss Peregrine reprimands her oldest girl. Of course she can understand her, but right now, it's Jake who has to make a difficult decision.

"Sorry," Emma says quickly, immediately regretting her reaction.

"Emma," Jake starts shyly. "I don't want to hurt you, I've already told you that. But I don't know what to do."

"I know," Emma sighs.

"Look, " Miss Peregrine begins again. "We can surely find a solution, that's alright for us all."

"But how?" Emma asks desperately.

"Let's start by talking about what's important for us," Miss Peregrine suggests and as none of the teenagers start she continues. "Ok, I for example want that you're both happy and I don't want Jake parents to feel like they have to lose their son because he's now found a second family here with us."

Then she motions for Emma to start as well.

"I want to spend as much time with Jake as before," she just sighs.

"Me too," Jake cuts in. "Of course I don't want anything to change as well. But I can't just leave my parents alone. They've been through so much because of me and I still love them as well. "

"Then it's clear for me," Miss Peregrine says. Both teenagers look at her confused. For them there's nothing that has changed since earlier and they still don't have a solution.

"I think the only way is that Jake lives with us as well as with his parents. He can have a room at our new house as well as here. Then he can decide from day to day, where he wants to stay for the night or the day. How does that sound?"

Emma shrugs but Jake starts smiling. "That's a great idea, Miss Peregrine. And I'm sure that my parents will be alright with it as well. What about you, Emma?"

"I guess I can live with it," she says. "But I still would have loved everything to stay as it is now," she adds smiling shyly.

"I know, me too," Jake answers. "But I'm also happy to see my parents again."

"Of course, I'm sorry," Emma says. Now she feels really guilty. Jake still has his parents and who does she think she is to take that away from him. How often has she wished to still have parents who love her and now she's holding that against Jake.

As they have talked about it all, Miss Peregrine decides to lighten the mood again. "Come on, let's join the others and see what they're doing," she suggests and Emma and Jake are glad about the distraction. They nod and together they get up and walk outside.

During the afternoon, none of them talk about this subject again. They play a little bit in the garden with Catherine before Miss Peregrine and Ethan go inside to prepare dinner. As they call in the children, they invite Catherine to stay for dinner as well, but she declines.

"I'm otherwise engaged tonight," she says, smirking at Alma.

"I see," Miss Peregrine says laughing. She's already looking forward to hearing this story another time. Since she has met Catherine, she has never changed her attitude towards relationships and had a new story for her at least every month.

At the dining table, Miss Peregrine tells the children about the latest news.

"Listen, children. Jake told us today that his parents will come back in a few weeks."

The children start to whisper to each other.

"That means, that we will move to Ethan soon. And that again means, that we will have to plan a few things."

"Like who's sharing a room," Bronwyn exclaims excitedly.

"That's right," Miss Peregrine answers. "As well as packing up all our things and decide what to take with us and what to leave here."

"But we have to take all our things with us," Claire pouts.

"Yes, of course," Miss Peregrine answers immediately. "But not all the furniture is ours and we have to talk to Jake parents to see what they want to keep and what we should buy from them."

The children nod understandingly before they start loudly discussing their new living situation again.

To silence them, Miss Peregrine raises her index finger and they fall silent immediately - well behaved as they are.

"We can't decide everything tonight," she says. "But I want you to think about all that for the next few days. Then we'll discuss it again, so we know what rooms to prepare."

"Exactly," Ethan agrees. "But what I have to say now is that the number of rooms is obviously limited." For a short moment he thinks about it. "I might be able to clear six rooms for you, so keep that in mind."

"Alright," the children answer and immediately start talking to each other again, at least the younger ones. Miss Peregrine has to calm them down again and tell them to finish their dinner first.

After all the children have gone to bed, Ethan and Alma are sitting once more on their couch. Miss Peregrine has lied down on Ethan's lap, while he's massaging her skin with the lotion. It has gotten a ritual for the couple. Alma enjoys the massage and Ethan loves having the contact with the child and being close to Alma. They have been doing it for some time now and Alma can feel that it's good for her and her skin but nonetheless they weren't able to prevent stretching marks completely. As the baby seemed to have grown a lot a few weeks ago, it was just too fast and now they are there: on her left waist. She doesn't feel too bad about it though. They are just an addition to her many other scars and at least these ones are small and will remind her of something nice instead of something horrible.

While lying there together, they are talking about the news from today again.

"Did you achieve something with Emma in Jake earlier?" Ethan asks.

Alms nods. "Yes. Of course it will still be difficult for them but I think we found a good solution."

"And that would be?" Ethan wants to know.

"I suggested that Jake keeps living with us as well as with his parents. He can have a room here and at _our_ new house." Alma deliberately emphasizes the word 'our' to show Ethan that she has learned it since earlier.

"That was a good idea," Ethan answers. "It will still be hard for them and living at too places is not easy either, believe me."

"I know, but it's the best way," Miss Peregrine sighs and Ethan nods. He stops massaging Alma and closes the lotion to put it away. Then they both lean back again.

"And you really think that we can finish everything until Jake's parents come back?" Alma asks unsure.

"I'm quite positive," Ethan answers. "Of course there are a few things to do, but nothing major. The rooms are all in a good shape, we only have to clear some of them from unnecessary things and some of the guest rooms will have to be redecorated. A bit of wallpapering, painting and tidying up, that's all."

"That sounds manageable," Miss Peregrine has to admit. "And the furniture?"

"I guess we can still use some of the beds and wardrobes out of the guest rooms, then we'll surely be able to take the furniture of the children from here. I may not know Jake's parents. But I'm pretty sure that they are not planning on having so many children of their own, that they will need all these things."

Alma has to laugh.

"No I don't think so either," she says. "Then there won't be a lot that we still have to buy," she guesses.

"No, surely not. One or two desks, maybe. A few chairs and stuff like that but that's no problem," Ethan says.

"And what about your things?" Alma keeps asking. "The rooms aren't empty. I bet that you have to keep a lot of those things."

"Yes a few, but there's still room in the cellar. And with the rest, there are always friends that need something of it, I'll just ask around."

Miss Peregrine smiles.

Ethan really knows how to make her feel better every time. All these planning is a lot to do and to be honest she's not really looking forward to it. Since they came back from their holiday she feels even more exhausted all the time. Even when she has a good night and got lots of rest, in the early afternoon it feels like she has already spent a whole day of working.

Only the smallest things are starting to make her feel tired and if she's honest, she doesn't want to do anything else than the normal duties in their daily life: Preparing the meals, cleaning the house, doing the laundry as well as spending time with the children. With twelve children it's already so much more than normal mothers have to do and she knows that she will have to accept more help in the near future. For now that's still working but the prospective of moving to Ethan's house now as well doesn't make her happy - to put it mildly.

But from what Ethan has said it might be possible, though, to finish everything before Jake's parents return and apparently even without too much stress. Ethan will take care of nearly everything. He is just such a great help. And he always assures Miss Peregrine that it's normal how she feels. The unborn just takes a lot of her energy.

"Thank you," Alma says quietly and snuggles up to Ethan, who embraces her in his arms and caresses her head with his hand.

"Wanna go to bed now?" he whispers in her ear, his breath tickling her skin there. Giggling, Miss Peregrine moves her head to the side, looking at him.

"I'd love to," she whispers, while looking directly into Ethan's eyes. They still fascinate her and she's silently hoping that their child will have the same intriguing and loving eyes.

As she subconsciously yawns, Ethan sits up and lifts her in his arms. While Alma leans her head against his chest, listening to Ethan's steady heartbeat that never ceases to calm her down, they walk into their bedroom. By now, Ethan can really feel that he's lifting two human beings, as Alma has gotten remarkably heavier. He doesn't tell her though, fearing she would take it to heart as she's already uncomfortable with her body at the moment.

Until now, Miss Peregrine has gained nearly 10kg, which she thinks is a lot. But Ethan keeps telling her that it's not she getting fat but the growing baby, her uterus, the amniotic fluid as well as her own blood, which has gotten a lot more. Only a small part of it all is from herself, but still a necessary energy reserve, which she will need after the birth. Also Catherine keeps assuring her that it's even necessary to gain at least 15kg during the pregnancy to be able to breastfeed the child afterwards.

And Ethan has to say that Alma still looks more than beautiful, he would still describe her frame as thin, except for the baby bump obviously. Just the swelling, that's also completely normal in the third trimester, is visible sometimes as it involves her legs, feet and sometimes even her arms, hands or face. Catherine checks her frequently to rule out more serious causes but so far everything has been fine and normal. Of course it's not comfortable and Alma often complains about swollen feet in the evenings and that her shoes stop fitting during the afternoons but Ethan makes her lay down and elevate her feet regularly and when the time allows it, he even gives them a massage in the evening.

Also for him it's an exhausting time with his work, renovating his house, helping with the housework or caring for Alma. But he enjoys it at the same time. All these things are just because of great changes in his life and he's still feeling young enough to easily go through with it. Having the woman and children he loves moving in with him and especially getting a child of his own is something so special, that he doesn't even feel worn out, just happy and energetic all the time.

After getting ready for bed, the couple lies down together. Miss Peregrine is lying on her side and has placed her head back on Ethan's chest while he is stroking her back.

"I love you!" Alma whispers, already half asleep. "I love you, too," Ethan answers, kissing her forehead. "Everything will be alright, I promise," he adds but Miss Peregrine has already gone someplace else, hopefully where no nightmares will plague her this night.

Ethan knows exactly that Alma feels unsure at the moment. Her hormones and the big changes in their live are messing with her feelings. He would even go as far as to say she's showing minimal depressive tendencies. It's not really bad, she's still happy most of the time and all her duties keep her mind busy. It's only in such calm and thoughtful moments that all her doubts surface. But at the same time he knows, that Alma is strong and can pull herself together when it's important. It's just another side effect of the pregnancy and he will do his best to support her until she's feeling better again. And he has no doubts at all that the birth of their child will finally push away all her worries.


	53. Chapter 23 Part II

**Part II**

During the next week they are all back in their routine. The children go to school and to their hobbies as well as doing their chores at home and practicing their instruments. Ethan has to work a lot to catch up with a few things that have piled up during his absence and Miss Peregrine is busy with the household duties and her children.

In their free afternoons they are all preparing for moving to Ethan. The children have told Miss Peregrine with whom they want to share a room. Obviously, the two teenage couples would like to stay in one room, which Miss Peregrine allowed after some time of thinking about it. Why should she deny them their wish, she can understand them only too well and it wouldn't be the first time that they're sleeping in the same bed anyway. And in case they should break up, the girls and the boys can still share their rooms again.

Then, Bronwyn and Claire are staying together and the twins also get a room on their own. Fiona finally gets a single room, as well as Horace, which leaves Hugh and Millard to share the last one.

Miss Peregrine thought it wise to let Horace stay on his own. He has always loved the silence and should he have some bad dreams, which make him shout out, he no longer wakes up the other boys.

As for Fiona, it was long overdue to get her her own refuge. She has never complained and Miss Peregrine knew that Fiona was happy with sharing a room but she is getting to old to sleep in the same room as the younger girls and Emma and Olive weren't the perfect roommates either, always staying up longer and having their boys come over for the night. And Miss Peregrine knew how good her decision was as soon as she saw Fiona's eyes light up, the moment they talked about it. She was so excited to plan her own new room.

Miss Peregrine put them all into groups to think about how their new rooms should look. They were supposed to hand in a picture or something like that by the end of the week. And that's what they are doing in their free time, sitting together in the living room, drawing their ideas.

Miss Peregrine enjoys these times and it makes her realize that not everything about this planning has to be stressful or exhausting. Of course she will have to pack up all their things in time but for now it's quite relaxed. The teenagers are helping her a lot in the house and also the other children are more thoughtful with everything, not leaving their things lying around and doing all their chores without being reminded . Miss Peregrine might not like seeing her children working so much but for now it's still within limits and she can feel that it's good for her to have less stress.

In the mornings after the children have left for school, Miss Peregrine tries to do some housework. Soon she would feel tired though and lies down a bit or reads before she has to prepare lunch and the first children will come home. As often as possible she tries to go to the Yoga classes or swimming but by now she really has to force herself although Ethan keeps reminding her that it's healthy and important.

After lunch she still helps the children with their homework or their instruments and does some other housework in between. In the afternoon she normally takes a short nap, while the teenagers are there to have an eye on the others, before joining them again to spend their free time.

At the moment she's usually sitting on the couch, listening to music, watching her children plan and draw their new rooms or reading something. At around half 5 Ethan comes from his office. He would either join them or pick up the boys to help him in his house. They are not renovating yet, but have nearly cleared all the rooms from Ethan's old stuff. Some of the things are now in the cellar, others have been brought to friends or social services.

Once a week, though, he comes earlier and accompanies Miss Peregrine to the antenatal class. Both of them really enjoy this time alone and see it as a really good preparation for the birth. Even though they have decided against a midwife during the birth, the one who does the classes already gives them lots of tips.

When Ethan and the boys are at Ethan's, they either come back when Miss Peregrine is ready with dinner or earlier, so Ethan can help her a bit, depending on how Miss Peregrine is feeling.

On Friday it's again one of those days. The week has floored her once more, so she's happy to hear that Ethan will come home early today. He calls every day in his lunch break to see how Alma is doing, knowing only too well that her daily duties are getting too much for her. And since he's always able to read her voice, she can't hide any discomforts from him.

As he's entering through the front door at around 3, Alma and the children are sitting on the couches again. They are all excited as it's time to hand in their pictures.

"You're just in time," Miss Peregrine says happily as Ethan crosses the room to plant a kiss on her forehead. "Can I be first, please?" Claire begs and climbs onto the couch next to her ymbryne, waggling with her sheet in front of her nose.

"You can," Miss Peregrine laughs and makes space for Ethan to sit down next to her.

As Ethan has taken Alma in his arms, the children start presenting their works. As promised, Claire is first.

"Look, this is Bronwyn's and my dream room," she starts. "There are our beds and the wardrobe, obviously, and here is an area where all our toys are."

Miss Peregrine and Ethan marvel at all the little details. The walls are painted in pink, white and a light blue and everything is labelled.

"We want it to be decorated with colourful oriental cloths, so it's a really cosy area," Bronwyn adds from behind Claire.

"I see," Miss Peregrine says and keeps listening to them both.

"On this wall we would like to paint something, like maybe a princess castle or a beautiful landscape," Claire continues.

"And here on the other side, we would like to have a place for our pets but we couldn't really agree on that front yet," Bronwyn says.

"Yes," Claire cuts in. "I don't want to have the guinea pigs in our room again, they are too noisy at night."

"And I don't want to have the cat near Ginger and Spinner," Bronwyn complains.

"Ok, girls, calm down," Miss Peregrine laughs. "We will find a solution for that, I'm pretty sure. But haven't you forgotten something? I can't see a desk for example. Are you planning on doing your homework on the floor?"

"No," both of the girls giggle. "I guess we can still fit one inside," Bronwyn says.

"Definitely," Ethan says smiling at the girls.

"Thank you," Miss Peregrine says. "These are wonderful ideas and I think we will be able to implement them all, even if it won't be immediately, as there's not so much time until we move. But with time, we'll finish all the decoration, ok?"

The girls nod happily and lean back again.

One after another, the other children present their ideas. Fiona, of course, wants lots of floral decoration, on the walls, in the pictures on the wall and lots of real flowers on the windowsill or on her desk and bedside table. If she could choose it, she would like to have white furniture and a very bright, but still cosy room.

The boys don't really care about the decoration. They have sketched some beds, desks, a wardrobe and bookshelves. Millard and Hugh agreed on dark blue walls and Horace chose a light grey, that's supposed to make it easier to sleep.

The twins have drawn a little room with a wooden floor and a white and light yellow wall. In front of the window is a little desk. On one side of the room is a wardrobe and on the other is a big dark green surface.

Miss Peregrine is surprised about their improved drawing skills but with the last thing, she doesn't really know where to put it.

"What exactly is this?" she says pointing at it.

The twins start jumping up and down, raising their right hands and doing strange movements with them in the air.

Confused, Miss Peregrine looks at Ethan, trying to find the answer in his eyes. Normally she understands the twins quite well but not this time.

The twins keep moving their hands in the air and making noises. Then they keep pointing at Claire and back at the green area on their sheet.

"Does anyone know what they mean?" Ethan asks while Miss Peregrine is still concentrating on the twins.

All the others are clueless as well, so the twins keep improving their movements. One of them runs of and gets a pen, integrating it in their demonstration, while the other keeps pointing at Claire.

"I think they mean a blackboard like in school," Claire guesses after a while.

"You mean they want to have a big blackboard on one wall?" Ethan asks and the twins start nodding excitedly.

"That's a really good idea," Miss Peregrine says.

"Definitely, I would have never gotten that kind of idea but I love it!" Ethan agrees.

"And where is your bed?" Miss Peregrine asks then, searching on the drawing.

The twins point at the middle of their picture, where you can see a circle with two lines coming out of it.

"Is this a swing?" Miss Peregrine asks interested and the twins nod again.

"As a bed?" Ethan wants to know.

"That's a great idea but are you sure you can sleep on something like that for a few years?" Miss Peregrine asks worried but the twins nod excitedly.

"Ok, I love your creativity and enthusiasm, so we'll try to build something like that, don't we Ethan?" Miss Peregrine asks him.

"Of course, but again it might take some time until that's ready, so you probably have to sleep in your beds for the beginning." The twins show their agreement, before they climb up the couch and sit down on both sides of Miss Peregrine.

Then the others present their ideas. As Jake and Enoch aren't much into decoration, it's mostly Emma and Olive who thought about it.

Together they agreed on the colours of the walls. Jake and Emma chose a dark petrol blue and Enoch and Olive a dark purple combined with white. They don't care about the furniture and are happy to use the things from the guest rooms. The girls haven't planned anything else yet as they will take care of the decoration later on their own.

Miss Peregrine and Ethan are really happy about all their ideas.

"Well done, children," Miss Peregrine says in the end. "These are a great help for Ethan and the boys when they will start renovating the rooms. What do you think, Ethan, how long will it take ?"

"I'm not completely sure. It depends on how often we find the time to work. First we have to buy the paint and do some general work in the rooms, maybe repairing little things on the floor or walls. Then we can start painting the walls and after everything is dry we can start moving things. There are six of us, so I think it won't take too long. Maybe four or five weeks," Ethan guesses.

"Alright," Miss Peregrine answers. "In the meantime we can start packing up all the things we won't need for the next weeks. But please be quick, boys , I don't think that I will feel more energetic, the more time passes."

"Of course," Ethan promises. "We will be as quick as possible, right boys." All of them agree immediately. They all know that Miss Peregrine is getting more exhausted every week. The most vivid example are her tiredness and breathlessness. She has started to feel breathless a couple of weeks ago, but for the children it's only now getting really visible. When Miss Peregrine talks too much at once, they can hear it. But luckily she's not the kind of woman who doesn't stop talking, which makes it quite rare. But also when she's walking a bit faster or has to take the stairs she ends up puffing. At first the children got a bit scared by it but Ethan explained that it's just normal.

"Good. So that sounds like a real plan and we seem to be ready before Jake's parents return," Miss Peregrine says smiling at Jake and Emma, who are sitting arm in arm on the opposite couch.

They are both returning her smile. Since Miss Peregrine has found a solution for their problem, they both stopped being in a bad mood about it all. And also Emma started seeing the benefits of having two places to spend time with Jake. Should they ever want to have a quiet night without the other children, they can always sleep at Jake parents' house.

The rest of the evening, they spend relaxing on the couches. Emma and Olive have offered to take care of the cooking, so Ethan and Miss Peregrine can also spend time together. With all the work lately, they haven't had many moments like that. Together with the children they play board games and listen to music until dinner is ready.

Afterwards they agree on watching TV for a short while. Even if the children are still wide awake, Miss Peregrine is looking forward to her bed and doesn't want the children to be still up when she's already asleep. Laying on the couches they watch an episode of their favourite comedy series, with lots of laughter and giggling from them all.

Then they all go to bed, already looking forward to the next weeks, with painting their new rooms, buying new furniture or other things and decorating them the way they want to.

Even if it's a lot work for the adults they're also happy about it and Miss Peregrine knows, that as long as Ethan is at her side she will be able to do and even enjoy nearly everything.


	54. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Some more weeks have passed again and the whole family was really busy with everything that's going on.

A few days after the children had presented their ideas, they all drove to Ethan's -and now also their house- to take a look at all the rooms. Miss Peregrine and Ethan asked the children which rooms they would prefer and then decided about it. Now it's clear which room will have to be decorated in which colours and the boys can start painting the walls.

On another day they all went to a ware house to buy some new furniture. Of course they all use the old beds and wardrobes, they all bought together with Jake's parents but nonetheless they need a few new things, like more desks, chairs, what they need for the swing bed of the twins and other little things and decoration. The children really enjoyed this trip and got very excited when choosing all their new belongings. The little ones played hide in seek among the furniture and also the teenagers loved exploring all the different arrangements, which gave Emma and Olive lots of inspiration for planning the rest of their rooms.

Two weekends later, all the children wanted to go with Ethan and help painting the walls. At the beginning, he thought that it wasn't such a good idea. With everyone running around it would be too difficult to achieve something and most of them have never painted a wall. It had been difficult enough to teach all the boys. But at the same time, Ethan understands them, their curiosity in trying something new and the urge to help with renovating their own rooms. So he said yes in the end and they all took the cars to drive to the other side of the city.

Only Miss Peregrine and Claire stayed at the old house. Claire has been invited to the birthday party of her best friend and would never swap it with only painting some walls. And Miss Peregrine is looking forward to get some sleep while being alone at home. It has gotten more difficult for her to sleep at night and when she sleeps, her dreams get even more weird than before. And that is quite something for a peculiar woman who has always dreamed about the strangest things.

Ethan told her that most pregnant women experience it though and that it's another effect of the hormonal changes in her body.

Soon after the biggest part of the family has left, Claire and Miss Peregrine sit down at the table. Together they are wrapping the birthday present and Claire writes in a little self-made card. She has chosen everything on her own and Miss Peregrine is really proud of her still youngest child.

After they've also gone into the garden to pick some flowers for the birthday girl, they go to the next bus station. Claire is really excited, babbling all the time and running around her ymbryne. She's talking about all the things that are supposed to happen this afternoon. Her best friend Emilia has already told her that they will have a very delicious cake and that they will go to a really big amusement park later in the afternoon before they'll come back and have Emilia's favourite dish for dinner.

Miss Peregrine is really happy for Claire and she's sure that it will be a fabulous day for her as Emilia's mother is always willing to do just the best for her children's birthdays.

Miss Peregrine herself knows her quite well. She was one of the first women she met here, as she went to a meeting at Claire's school. She had immediately been very friendly and tried to integrate Alma into the community. They had gotten along very well, mostly because she has a few children of her own as well. A few times Miss Peregrine has met her for coffee somewhere and they always enjoyed their talks.

Arriving in front of their house, Claire's excitement reaches a climax. Happily she jumps across the little path leading to the door and rings the bell. Waiting for someone, Miss Peregrine takes in her surroundings. Emilia's mother has always the most beautiful flowers in her garden. Of course their own garden looks perfect too, no wonder with Fiona's gift. But for a normal woman with a job and several children it always amazes Alma how perfect everything looks. Breathing in the scent of the humid summer air as well as the scent of the flowers, she can't help but feel happy.

Only a few seconds later, the front door opens and Emilia's mother sticks her head out of the crack of the door.

"Oh, it's you," she says nervously, not opening the door further.

At seeing Miss Peregrine's confused look, she continues. "I tried to call you, Alma but apparently you had already left."

"What is it? Did you have to cancel the party?" Miss Peregrine guesses but the other woman shakes her head.

"Not exactly but something happened and I can't allow Claire to come inside."

Shocked, Claire looks at her friend's mother, not understanding what she's saying. Through the ajar door, she can hear the other girls laughing in the living room. They must already be sitting at the table and Claire thinks she can even smell the cake.

"What do you mean?" Miss Peregrine inquires. Emilia's mother sighs and lowers her head, before looking back at Alma.

"Emilia's younger brother got sick last night and this morning we went to the doctor's," she explains.

"Xavier?" Miss Peregrine asks back and Emilia's mother nods.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Alma answers. "But you're still celebrating?"

"Yes we are, but the doctor told us that it's the rubella virus."

"Oh," is all that Miss Peregrine says. Slowly she's beginning to understand.

"What does that mean?" Claire asks impatiently. She knows that it's not a nice thing that Emilia's brother is sick but she just can't understand why all her friends are allowed in and not her.

"We don't want you to get sick, too, Claire," Emilia's mother begins.

"But what's different for the other girls?" Claire asks, now even more confused.

"They are all vaccinated," Emilia's mother wants to explain but Claire interrupts her.

"But I'm too. I still can't pronounce that word but I am," she tries to convince the woman in front of her. Desperately she looks back at her ymbryne.

"Miss P. tell her," she begs but Miss Peregrine just looks sad. It hurts her to take this away from her little girl, as she has been looking forward to it for weeks.

Therefore Emilia's mother steps in once more.

"The rubella virus can get really dangerous for pregnant women and their unborn children, so I wouldn't want to risk you infecting Alma as well, Claire. I'm really sorry."

"But..." Claire just stammers, not able to finish her sentence as she's suddenly overwhelmed by tears welling up in her eyes. Seeing her little girl so distressed and that only because of her, Miss Peregrine walks up behind her and takes her in her arms.

"I'm really sorry, Claire," she says as well, pressing her little body closer to hers.

"But the cake, the park and my present...," Claire sobs into Miss Peregrine's dress. " I know sweetheart, I know," she coos. "But there will be a next time, I promise. And for today, maybe we can do something together, just the two of us," Miss Peregrine suggests but Claire just shakes her head.

"Maybe we can still leave the present here, I'm sure that Emilia will still be really happy about it."

"Yes, she will," her mother agrees with Miss Peregrine. "And as soon as no one is infectious anymore we can invite you over to celebrate with you as well."

"I don't know," Claire sobs. "It's not the same."

"No, it's not," Miss Peregrine agrees. "But unfortunately we'll have to accept it. In our lives not everything works out as planned, you know. But we can always try and make the best of it."

Slowly, Claire begins to calm down again. Of course she's really sad about this but at the same time she understands it. The health of Miss Peregrine and the baby is of course more important than just a birthday party. But even knowing that doesn't ease her disappointment.

She walks over to the door and gives Emilia's mother the present and the bunch of flowers.

"Oh, thank you, Claire. They are really beautiful. I promise you that Emilia will call you as soon as she has unwrapped your present," she assures her.

Sadly, Claire nods and walks back to her ymbryne, who takes her hand. Miss Peregrine nods at Emilia's mother as a silent thank you and goodbye.

On their way back home, Claire stays silent. Miss Peregrine offers her to go into the Zoo or the beach with her. Miss Peregrine's feet as well as her pelvis are already hurting and she doesn't want anything else than lie down somewhere, but to comfort her girl she would do anything.

But Claire doesn't want to. She says that it's not half as much fun without anyone else.

"Maybe we can go together with Ethan and the others one day," Miss Peregrine offers again.

"Maybe," Claire just sighs and keeps walking with her head held low.

In the end, Miss Peregrine can at least convince her to eat some ice cream in the city before they return to their house.

At home, Claire is allowed to choose everything they do. First reluctantly and still sad, Claire decides that they play a few of her favourite board games. Miss Peregrine would have loved to lie down a bit as she had planned but sitting on the couch with her youngest girl isn't so bad either.

With time Claire gets more enthusiastic about everything again and is happy as she keeps winning against her ymbryne. As the games get boring, Claire gets her doll and wants to play with her and Miss Peregrine. She pretends that they're both two women with their babies or in Miss Peregrine's case still pregnant. Claire loves the fact that she has been the first to have the baby and keeps explaining to Miss Peregrine how to care for a newborn, all the things, Ethan has taught her and Bronwyn.

Miss Peregrine smiles at her little girl, she's happy about Claire's enthusiasm concerning the baby and looks forward to seeing her with the child after the birth.

A few times Claire remembers the birthday party and gets sad again but Miss Peregrine always comes up with a new idea to distract her.

As also this game gets boring, Claire decides that they will watch a Barbie movie, Claire's favourite kind of movies. But unfortunately they never watch them because the others don't like it. Miss Peregrine loves the idea, hoping that Claire won't notice her closing her eyes from time to time during the movie. Before they start she gets some milk and cookies for them to eat and drink during the movie.

The first half of the movie passes as planned: Claire is soon absorbed enough and stops talking, so Miss Peregrine can sleep for a couple of minutes. And as Claire is sitting half in front of her, leaning back against her chest, she can't see her ymbryne dozing off.

But then the baby seems to wake up and starts moving a lot, which rips Miss Peregrine out of her slumber. Lately, the movements of the baby have gotten a lot more and the kicks stronger. Sometimes Miss Peregrine feels like there's a little boxer living inside her.

And she has to say, that it can really hurt sometimes. Most of the time it's just the shock as you're not expecting it at all and suddenly you're being kicked in a random place like the bladder or the bellybutton. One time Miss Peregrine was lying in bed and the baby kicked her right into her ribs. That one really hurt and also now it's not very comfortable.

The baby keeps moving around and kicks and boxes at different places.

"What was that?" Claire asks all of a sudden. She had also gotten a bit sleepy although her eyes kept focusing on the television. But then she felt something kind of hit her into the side, the part of her body that leaned against her ymbryne.

Miss Peregrine sits up a bit more and shifts slightly to get more comfortable, then she smiles.

"That was the baby," she says.

Immediately Claire is fully awake and turns around to look at Miss Peregrine with wide eyes.

"Really? I've been hit by the baby?" she asks astonished.

"You were," Miss Peregrine confirms. "It's constantly moving and sometimes it can kick really hard," she explains and takes Claire's hand to place it on the spot where the baby is currently boxing.

"Wow," Claire says. "Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes it does, but most of the time it's just wonderful."

Claire frowns and looks back up at her ymbryne's face.

"How can it feel nice when it kicks you?" she asks.

"Because it's making me feel the child, knowing that it's alright. And it reminds me that it's a real human being that's now growing and will be with us very soon," Miss Peregrine tries to explain her feelings.

"I see," Claire answers thoughtfully and leans back into the couch, her hand still on Miss Peregrine's tummy. Again she can feel some movement and kicking.

"Can I see it?" she asks suddenly and sits back up.

"Of course," Miss Peregrine says and lifts her shirt to let Claire take a look.

Together they keep looking and they can really see the whole tummy moving or bulging on different sides.

Claire giggles. "That looks funny."

"It does, yes," Miss Peregrine agrees. "And it's one of the best feelings in the world. Sometimes when its movements keep me awake, I would just lie there, look at it and enjoy the feeling."

After some time of Claire thinking, her facial expression changes again and Miss Peregrine thinks she can see disappointment in these little grey eyes. She wonders if Claire thinks about the birthday party again but before she can ask, Claire speaks up on her own.

"I wasn't in your tummy as a baby," she states sadly.

 _Oh, that's what it's about..._ Miss Peregrine thinks.

She lays her arm around Claire's shoulders.

"No you weren't," she answers truthfully.

Claire rests her head on Miss Peregrine's shoulder. "Do you think I kicked in my mother's tummy, like your child does?"

"I'm sure of it," Miss Peregrine answers. "Every baby moves and kicks."

"Did I hurt her, too? And what if she didn't like me because of that?" Claire asks.

"Oh, Claire," Miss Peregrine says in a soft voice. "I'm sure that your mother loved you very much and that she was really looking forward to meeting you, even if you might have kicked her a bit harder."

"But she gave me away after the birth, she didn't even keep me for a while like the parents of the others did," Claire points out.

"I know, sweetheart. But I don't believe that it was because she didn't love you. It's just very hard for normal people, who don't know anything about peculiars, to deal with something like that. She probably didn't understand what happened to you and how to handle you. And even if she would have chosen to keep you because she loved you, it would have been too hard for her, living in a society with other normals, always having to explain or hide you away."

Claire thinks about it for some time.

"Ok," she answers then, her voice back to normal. She doesn't remember her real parents, she was just too young back then and for her it's Miss P. who is her mother. There aren't any feelings connected with her biological parents but nonetheless she can't help thinking about it from time to time.

"I don't care anyway. Because if they hadn't given me away, I would have never lived with you and that would be really sad!" she says

Miss Peregrine just has to smile. "Thank you, Claire," she says, trying to keep herself from bursting into tears once more. These children are her life and she couldn't imagine living without them anymore. Nonetheless she feels really sad, knowing what they've all been through, that they've all been abandoned by their real family. That's why it makes her especially happy to hear that they see her as their family and that they are happy.

"I've got an idea," the little girl giggles and Miss Peregrine looks at her expectantly.

"Can we place this book or the TV remote on your tummy and look how it moves," she asks excitedly and Miss Peregrine has to laugh at her girl's funny ideas.

"If you want to," she answers still laughing. "But I don't understand the point of it."

"It looks funny," Claire explains and grabs Miss Peregrine's book from the coffee table. Carefully she places it on Miss Peregrine's tummy. Soon the baby starts moving and kicking again, which causes the book to sway from side to side until it nearly falls down.

Before it can crash to the ground, Miss Peregrine takes the book and lies it down on the couch next to her. On the other side, Claire can't stop herself from giggling. Lovingly, Miss Peregrine looks at her. She may not understand the joke of it, but it makes her unbelievingly happy to see her laugh, especially after her big disappointment earlier.

The rest of the afternoon, the two spend a relaxed time, finishing the movie and even closing the eyes for a short time.

Later on, they start cooking dinner together. A few times before, Miss Peregrine has called her younger girls into the kitchen, to help her as well as learn the most important things about cooking and baking. The older girls already know a lot and also the boys had to learn the basics. They may have come from a former time, when women were supposed to care for all that stuff. But Miss Peregrine has always intended to bring up her boys to think differently and especially now in the present time, it has gotten more necessary.

By now Claire already knows a few things and is a real help to Miss Peregrine. She can cut the vegetables and potatoes, helps preparing a salad and with Miss Peregrine's help she even turns the meat in the frying pan for the first time. Miss Peregrine keeps explaining to her what's important when cooking meat.

Only a few minutes before they are ready, the rest of the family comes home from a long day of working in their new house.

"Perfect timing," Miss Peregrine says smiling as they all storm into the living room and she's just about to set the table. "How was your day?" she asks interestedly.

"Great. We're nearly ready with painting all the rooms," Hugh says enthusiastically.

"Yes, that's right," Ethan adds. "The children were really focussed and did an amazing job."

"Yes, Miss P.! You definitely have to come and take a look as soon as possible," Fiona says.

"Gladly, Fiona. I'd love to see the results," Miss Peregrine says while placing the last plate on Ethan's place at the table.

"And Emma and Olive painted a beautiful fairytale landscape on the wall in our room," Bronwyn says. "Did they?" Miss Peregrine asks back, looking proudly at the two elder girls.

"Yes, it looks like out of the Barbie movies, Claire will love it. When will she come back home?" Bronwyn asks.

"Oh, she's already here," Miss Peregrine informs them and turns back towards the kitchen to call Claire. She had heard the others arriving but as Miss Peregrine left her in charge of the stove, she didn't leave the kitchen. But now as she's been called, she comes running into the living room.

"What is it, Miss P.?" she asks. "The stove isn't switched off."

"Bronwyn wanted to tell you something. I'll go and take care of the kitchen," the ymbryne tells her youngest girl.

While the children keep talking in the living room, showing Claire pictures of the rooms, Ethan follows Miss Peregrine into the kitchen, where she's just draining the cooked vegetables. While the children were way too enthusiastic to notice Claire's early return, Ethan is slightly confused.

"I thought Claire would still be at the birthday party. Weren't the children supposed to eat dinner there as well?" he asks, frowning at Alma.

Miss Peregrine sighs after transferring the vegetables into a bowl.

"Yes, that was the plan," she answers. "But unfortunately, the party didn't happen, at least not for Claire."

Now Ethan is even more confused.

"What happened, is Claire alright?" he asks alarmed.

"Yes, I mean she had been disappointed but by now it's alright, I guess," Miss Peregrine answers.

As Ethan still doesn't understand it he keeps looking at her with his eyebrows raised.

As Miss Peregrine has placed the bowl on the little kitchen table and turns back to repeat her actions with the potatoes, she starts explaining it all.

"We went to Emilia's house, as planned, but unfortunately her younger brother came down with a rubella infection. So Emilia's mother, as responsible as she is, didn't let us even enter the house."

"Ohh," Ethan answers.

"Yes. Claire was devastated, she had been looking forward to this party for weeks."

"I know," Ethan answers. "I'm sorry for her but luckily Emilia's mother was so foresighted . It could have been really dangerous."

"I know," Miss Peregrine sighs. "I'm really thankful but still, I didn't like the fact that Claire had to cut back on something because of me and the child."

"I understand that," Ethan says and embraces Alma from behind after she has also placed the bowl with potatoes on the table. He knows exactly that this is the thing Alma fears the most and today was the first time that it happened. Unfortunately it won't be the last time either. When the child will be there, it will have to come first a few times. It's not very nice but it comes with having a newborn, no matter if it's your own child or adopted. Alma will just have to learn it.

Ethan sighs, then kisses Alma on the head. He decides to take the first step towards Alma learning it now.

"To me Claire looked happy enough, so I guess she got over it. I mean she's already a big girl and I'm sure that she understands why it was important."

Miss Peregrine nods.

"Yes, we had a great afternoon after all."

"See," Ethan says. "It's just part of being an older sister and the children know that already, for Claire it might be the first time she's experiencing it, but it will be alright nonetheless," Ethan says his opinion.

"Your right, as always," Alma laughs and turns around. One last time they kiss before joining the others in the living room, serving the rest of the food.

Over dinner, the children keep telling their ymbryne from their day at the new house. They have made pictures with the boys' mobile phones, that they want to show her. But Miss Peregrine is as strict as ever, even if she's curious to see their achievements.

"No such devices at the table children," she insists.

Especially the younger children wanted to hear about Claire's day, they didn't know about the cancelled party. At first, Claire gets a bit sad again but then she explains everything. It kind of makes her proud to inform the others about the rubella infection and its consequences. She also enjoys telling her siblings that Miss Peregrine spend the whole day with her alone, doing whatever she wanted to, which makes at least some of them jealous.

After cleaning everything up and getting ready for bed, they talk Miss Peregrine into watching a movie with them all together, which she gladly does, seeing their expectant faces and having slightly missed the others during the day.

An hour later, she tucks in the little ones, even reading a story to them before retiring into her own room. Claire seems to have nearly forgotten about her disappointment and Miss Peregrine is also relieved that her little girl didn't take it too badly.

With Ethan she follows their daily rituals: lotioning, massaging and then cuddling until their eyes close on their own. For Miss Peregrine it's the best part of the day and she can't remember the last time, she had a terrible nightmare. Her dreams are still crazy at the moment and she's not sleeping too long at a time, either being woken up by the child, her pelvis pain or something else. But she's still having a relaxed night, enjoying not being alone anymore.


	55. Chapter 25 Part I

**Chapter 25**

 **Part I**

It's a hot summer's day in June and the hottest and humid season has eventually begun. The renovation of Ethan's house is still going on, even if they have already made huge progress but their lives are still as stressful as before.

Miss Peregrine is by now 32 weeks pregnant and does really feel it as well. She's constantly tired and is reminded to take breaks by the increased amount of Braxton Hicks contractions. Furthermore the hot and humid weather makes it extra difficult for her. Therefore the rest of the family is still trying to compensate for what she can't do anymore. Ethan is still managing the balancing act between his work, the renovation as well as the family life.

Luckily they all survived another busy week and are now enjoying their weekend. The children have begged Miss Peregrine to take them to the big swimming pool of the city and she said yes, hoping it will also help her cool down.

The teenagers on the other hand are planning on accompanying Ethan to his house. He wants to get the child's room ready, or rather the corner of his and Miss Peregrine's bedroom, that will be the area for the child. It's supposed to be a surprise for Miss Peregrine and therefore top secret.

So while they're leaving to drive up the hill to their new house, Miss Peregrine is packing up some things for their day. They need all their bathing suits, towels and some spare clothes. The children also want to take a few toys for the water and Miss Peregrine wouldn't leave without their sun hats, sunscreen and lots of things to eat and drink.

As they're finally ready they take the bus and arrive at the pool at around half past 11. The area around the pool is still quite empty, this early in the morning but surely that will change soon.

They look for a nice place and find the perfect spot, to one side next to a small hedge and half in the shadow of a big tree, half in the sun.

After unpacking all their things, the children want to go into the water immediately. Miss Peregrine has rented a sun lounger on which she relaxes. Luckily all the children can swim by now so it's a lot less stressful for her. Nonetheless, she keeps an eye on them from where she lies while reading a book. In the shadow the heat is quite bearable, also for Miss Peregrine who has suffered from it during the last weeks. The hot weather increased the swelling of her feet and legs and also the temperature was terrible when combined with her sweating and carrying her increased weight.

From afar Miss Peregrine watches her children play in the water. They're diving, chasing each other, playing with a ball or jumping off the edge of the pool, doing the funniest acrobatic stunts: summersaults, pirouettes and other things.

Her girls have really improved during their gymnastics training. Miss Peregrine is glad that they are enjoying it, that they are exercising and learning new things.

Soon more and more people come to the swimming pool and the patches of grass get more crowded. Next to their blankets a young couple and their children start unpacking their things. They have four kids, the youngest barely a year old.

Miss Peregrine has a nice talk with the mother while the father takes the children to the pool. The toddler is still a bit sleepy and stays in the arm of his mother.

"How old is he?" Miss Peregrine asks interested. "He's 11 months next week," Sandra, as she has introduced herself, answers proudly.

"A lovely but stressful time," Alma remarks smiling at the young woman, who nods and joins her laugh.

"So it's not your first pregnancy?" Sandra guesses. Alma hesitates with her answer, not sure what she wants this stranger to know.

"Kind of," she says eventually and Sandra seems to be content with that.

"How far along are you?" she keeps asking. "Do you know what it will be?"

"32 weeks and no, we don't know it yet. But by now I'm not even sure if we'll want to know it before the birth. So far it hasn't been a big issue."

"As far as it's healthy, right?" Sandra agrees.

"Exactly."

"But it's not really fun at the moment with the weather, right?" Sandra points out and Miss Peregrine shakes her head laughing.

"With this one I was lucky and he was born in early spring but with the girls it was different, too," Sandra explains. "The worst is the swelling."

"Oh, yes," Miss Peregrine sighs.

As Claire and Bronwyn come by for the third time, Miss Peregrine finally gives in and follows them to the pool.

She swims a few laps and then plays in the more shallow water with them. There is a big swirl in the middle where they are all trying to swim against the drift or floating with it. The twins who have borrowed a pair of diving goggles are diving around them and even beg Miss Peregrine to stand with her legs slightly apart, so that they can dive underneath her.

Afterwards they all go under the big mushroom spray fountain and let the water fall on their heads. Bronwyn dives into the water and resurfaces with Claire standing on her shoulders. Giggling they stand next to Miss Peregrine under the 'waterfall' and show her that they are now taller while the boys fight over the best place in the middle, where they are not hit by the water.

In Ethan's house, the teens and Ethan have just painted one of the walls in the adult's bedroom. The room itself is kept quite plain: white walls and dark wooden furniture. But the side where the baby will stay shall be decorated with light colours. The wall is now a light blue with light yellow parts and the girls have painted a few things, like balloons, flowers or clouds.

In the meantime, the boys have driven to the warehouse again. The last time they were there, Miss Peregrine fell in love with a beautiful set of baby furniture: a little bed, a changing table and a small cabinet, all in white but with colours on the changing mat and the bed sheet and blanket.

Ethan wants to give it all to Alma as present for the birth of their child.

While the men build up the furniture, the girls make a little crib mobile, also with little balloons and clouds made out of felt.

After the boys have eventually stopped complaining about the instructions and it gets a bit more quiet, the girls decide to bring up something, they've thought about for a bit.

"You love Miss Peregrine, right?" Emma asks Ethan directly.

Confused Ethan looks up from the half finished bed. "Of course I do! Does it look, like I'm not?"

"No, not at all," Emma corrects immediately.

"But?" Ethan still wonders.

"What are your next steps in the relationship? Are you thinking of taking it further?" Emma clarifies.

But this makes Ethan even more confused. "What could be further than getting a baby together?" he laughs.

"True!" Emma agrees and looks at Olive.

"What we meant was more on an official level," she helps Emma.

"Right. You know that Miss Peregrine comes from a different time," Emma adds.

"Yeeees...," Ethan says hesitantly, not really getting what they are playing at.

"So she might be more conservative in some things," Olive says.

"Even if Miss P. is quite modern and adaptable for that," Enoch adds.

"Yeah, I guess that comes with being an ymbryne," Emma points out.

"Yes, but even for that, she's much more open minded and up-to-date than other ymbrynes," Enoch insists.

"Anyway," Olive cuts in. "What we're saying is that a certain question might be in order."

Both the girls wink at Ethan and also the boys seem to be smirking.

Confused, Ethan thinks a little bit until he finally understands.

"You mean, I should ask her to marry me?"

The four teenagers nod enthusiastically.

Ethan sighs. "I know, I've been thinking about it, too. And my sisters have also been talking me into it. But I wasn't sure if Alma is that kind of person. She's so strong and independent and has lived on her own for more than a decade. I fear that asking her to marry me would make her feel like I want to take that away from her!" Ethan shares his thoughts with the others.

The teenagers contemplate these reasons.

"I've never seen it that way," Olive says finally.

"No. And I think Miss P won't either," Emma says.

"I agree with Emma," Enoch cuts in. "Miss P. is strong, yes, and she can do anything on her own. But that doesn't mean that she wants it, too."

"Enoch's right. I'm very sure that's just a facade, what she wants us to think. She always wants to protect us but actually Miss P. is quite vulnerable, too, and you of all of us have seen that side of her, Ethan."

He nods hesitantly. The children are right: He and Alma have already been though a lot together in this short time and every time when they went through a rough patch Alma seemed to regain her strength through his presence and support.

"You're right, but how?" he asks helplessly. The children start laughing and also Ethan has to smile about himself.

"Luckily, that's your problem and not ours," Emma jokes.

"So you don't have any ideas or advice?" Ethan asks desperately.

The boys quickly shake their heads.

"Miss Peregrine is so emotional at the moment, I think you could do whatever you want and she would say yes and burst into tears," Enoch says.

"Probably, but I still want it to be special," Ethan insists.

"Of course," the girls agree with him.

"She likes classical music, good red wine, but obviously not at the moment. I think deep down she's quite romantic, so you probably should do something like that," Olive suggests.

"I've heard of someone proposing while building a sand castle," Jake says. "He made his girlfriend join him and then he placed the ring on the highest tower."

"That's a nice idea," Emma smiles.

"Yes but I don't think I could get Alma to crawl on the beach with me right now," Ethan points out.

"Oh, yes, of course," Jake answers.

"I read about a proposal during a party," Olive begins. "The man had bought multiple balloons with letters on it. Then he gave one of them to every guest. As he suggested doing a group photo, the guests had to arrange themselves correctly and when the woman took a look at the photo the balloons spelled the question 'Will you marry me?'"

"That's so creative," Emma says.

"I quite like that idea, too," Ethan agrees. "But again, I'm not really sure how to do it."

"There's always the proposal in public or the 'ring in the dessert or champagne' thing, but I guess that's getting boring," Enoch thinks out loud.

Together they keep talking about all the possibilities until Ethan has the perfect plan in his mind. But he decides not to share it with the others yet.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine and the kids are just exiting the swimming pool. They are all a bit exhausted from another big waterfight and really hungry. After drying themselves with their towels they sit down on the blankets and Miss Peregrine gets out all the food she has brought. While the children are enjoying the little snacks and some fruits, Miss Peregrine goes around and reapplies their sun lotion.

Next to them the other family is also doing a lunch break. They have two girls and two boys, such a nice combination, Miss Peregrine thinks. The children start talking to their kids and also the adults start another conversation. They find out that the oldest girl, called Laura, is 11 years old, then comes the 9 year-old Adam and the younger girl Ayla is 7 years old.

After they've finished eating, they run off again. As the adults have insisted, that they don't go into the water immediately, they find something else. The girls start doing gymnastics on the grass and the boys, accompanied by the other father, ran off to the soccer field on the other side of the pool.

Miss Peregrine and Sandra have to laugh. "All the kids kind of share the same interests," she says.

Then Miss Peregrine lies back into her lounger again as Sandra breastfeeds her little one, who has gotten a bit whiney and tired before putting him to sleep on a blanket in the shadow of the tree.

Miss Peregrine wants to use the time to close her eyes for a bit as Sandra has promised to keep an eye on the girls. Relieved, she relaxes and even dozes off from time to time until, nearly an hour later, it gets a bit uncomfortable on the hard material and her hips start hurting once more. Furthermore the child has decided to move again, which makes sleeping nearly impossible.

Therefore Miss Peregrine shifts a bit on the lounger before sitting up again. Sandra, who has noticed her discomfort, gives her some advice, like what helped her a lot with the pain during her pregnancies before Miss Peregrine decides to distract her child by going back into the cool water. Besides, swimming also helps with all her symptoms as well, taking all the weight off her body and relieving her swollen feet and legs.

As she returns to their things, Sandra has also left. Curious she looks around but can't find her. Probably the child has woken up again and she is walking around with him or even swimming, too.

Quickly, Alma makes sure that the girls are alright but they are still on the grass a few meters away. By now they have gone from doing handstands or cartwheels to more acrobatic stuff, though.

Again Miss Peregrine lies down a bit. She drinks some water and takes out a piece of watermelon before reading again - not leaving the children out of sight, though. This may be a dangerous hobby, but she's just happy that her girls enjoy it so much and by the looks of it are talented as well. As Miss Peregrine grows tired again, she lets her eyelids close for a little while. Of course she's afraid that her girls may have an accident or something but even if she constantly watches them, she won't be able to prevent it.

Around her, the wind is blowing, cooling her down in a nice way and making the leaves in the tree rustle. From all sides she can hear children laughing, shouting or even arguing which it's still a nice sound, though and causes a lovely and summery atmosphere and lulls Alma to sleep.

 **Sorry for my mistake and thank you for noticing. So here's the missing part.**

 **Part II**

But suddenly she's ripped out of her slumber as Claire comes running towards her, followed by the other girls. They looks slightly upset. Quickly she approaches her ymbryne and whispers something in her ear. Immediately, Alma sits up with a shocked expression.

"Is that true?" Miss Peregrine asks astonished as she has overcome her initial surprise.

The two other girls shake their heads vehemently while Fiona and Bronwyn nod. The older sister has placed her hands protectively on her younger sister's shoulders. They both look scared.

Miss Peregrine sits up completely and puts her feet back on the ground, leaning forward to them.

"Can you show me, what you did, please?" she asks friendly. Both girls shake their heads again.

"No, I can't," says the younger one. "I'm not allowed to, my mother will be very angry with me as it is." The little girl nearly starts crying, while the elder one keeps stroking her shoulders soothingly.

"Besides," she cuts in. "My sister didn't do anything. We were just doing acrobatics, nothing special!"

"That's not true," Claire and Bronwyn argue.

"She did some really extreme bending, she must be peculiar!" Claire adds.

"Nonsense! My sister is just more flexible than others and she's really good at acrobatics, nothing more," Laura says again, now more firmly.

"Stop lying!" Claire whines. She may be young but not stupid and she saw what she saw and hates it when others treat her like she's less reliable.

"Children, please calm down," Miss Peregrine intervenes. "It's nothing worth fighting over."

Then she turns towards the other two girls again.

"Listen, I don't want to harm you or your sister. I'm just really curious and I'd like to see your gift. And here behind the hedge no one else than me will see it."

The girls seem to think about it.

But then, Sandra and their little brother return suddenly. At seeing all the children standing around Miss Peregrine, she frowns.

"What's going on?" she asks now a bit worried that something happened.

Her girls storm towards her and the little one embraces her legs tightly.

"I'm sorry, mom," she cries. "I didn't mean to, it just happened."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hide it, I didn't know what to do," the older sister says.

"It's alright, children," Sandra says and strokes their backs.

Then she lifts her head and looks at Alma, trying to see what she knows and how she will react. Looking for confusion, maybe even disgust or anger, she's surprised to find a soft expression, full of compassion and understanding.

"I think we need to talk," Miss Peregrine says gently and Sandra nods.

"It's alright," she says to her children. "Go and play again, but maybe no acrobatics for a while."

"Can we go and swim again," they ask back and as Sandra nods, they take their water toys and go to the pool.

"Why don't you go with them," Miss Peregrine suggests to her girls. "And please be kind, alright."

"Of course Miss Peregrine!" Fiona says and then they run off, too.

Thoughtfully, Sandra sits down next to Miss Peregrine, who turns around to look at her. Again, Sandra is surprised by her expression. She has had to have this conversation a couple of times by now and no other was like this. Sandra doesn't care about the hateful comments she usually gets and she's prepared to defend her girl for all her life. But what is this woman going to say?

"Your child is peculiar," Miss Peregrine begins slowly.

Shocked, Sandra looks back at her. _What is this woman, what does she know? Maybe she's a doctor and wants to talk about this condition and she used this word accidentally ? But what if not?_

Sandra decides to play along but not to say too much on her own.

" I know, " she answers and now it's Miss Peregrine's turn to look confused.

"I'm not sure, if you understand," she continues. "I meant not in the common sense of peculiar."

"I understood you right," Sandra says. Now she can be more sure that this woman knows what she does.

"You do?" Miss Peregrine asks surprised.

"Yes. A couple of years ago this woman came to us and informed us about Ayla . I forgot the exact term she used for herself, but her name was something like a bird."

"An ymbryne," Miss Peregrine says.

"Right, that was it," Sandra confirms, now definitely relieved that this woman knows everything as well.

"And?" Miss Peregrine asks. She hasn't heard of any peculiars living here and no ymbryne ever mentioned this visit to her.

"She explained everything to us and why Ayla is the way she is. Then she informed us, that there are children's homes for these kind of children, where those women take care of them. She said that it's the best place for them, as all the others understand and can help living with these peculiarities."

Alma nods as she knows this speech only too well. But she doesn't say anything and let's Sandra continue.

"But to be honest, giving her away was never an option for us. This woman told us about other children, that were abandoned by their parents or even abused but my husband and I still loved her the same. It was even a relief for us to finally know what's the reason for her being different. We've known it right from the beginning. Her birth was so quick she must have made herself so small - I wasn't even completely dilated as she was born and the doctor and the nurses said they have never seen something like that."

Miss Peregrine listens thoughtfully. Secretly she admires this woman for a birth like that, but at the same time she knows that it won't be very likely to happen to her as well.

"For the first years nothing else happened but as she grew older we were reminded of it again. For example when we were playing hide and seek or when she hid from us, she would fit in the smallest of places. We weren't able to get her out. Then as she became aware of it, she started to do these tricks with her legs and arms. That's when we got really worried and also others noticed it. We took her to several doctors. First they thought she had a genetic defect but all tests came back negative. As this ymbryne came to us we had been so helpless and didn't know what to do anymore. And then it was like a whole new life again. We knew what Ayla had and we could live with it. We just had to make her understand that not everyone is supposed to know about it. Since then she has kind of learned what she can do when others see her and what not. But as you could see, it's not always working. But we still love her very much and couldn't wish for any other child. The only thing that matters in the end is that your child is healthy."

"I see," Miss Peregrine answers. She has talked to many parents in her life before but none of them reacted like this. The love of these parents moves her. And in her current state, she's barely holding back the tears.

"That's wonderful," she adds then. "I feel the same. I could never understand these parents, that abandon their children. I mean I love all these children and would never do anything like that to them and I'm not even their biological mother."

"Wait," Sandra interrupts her all of a sudden. "If you know all this stuff and you care for all these children, does that mean you're someone like that, too?"

Miss Peregrine smiles and nods.

"That's right. I'm Alma LeFay Peregrine and I'm an ymbryne. All the children you have seen earlier are my wards, at least some of them."

"Wow!" Sandra exclaims. "So they are all peculiar and there are even more of them?"

Again Miss Peregrine nods. "My four teenagers are helping my partner with the renovation of his house," she explains and has to smile about it. _My partner...it's the first time that she uses that term for Ethan when talking to someone else._

Sandra frowns again. "But as I understood it that's not common, right? I mean, if I remember it correctly, this woman said that there will only be her, looking after the children, no father figure or something like that."

"That's correct," Miss Peregrine says and blushes slightly. She still feels kind of uncomfortable with her being the only ymbryne living with a man.

"It kind of happened accidentally and you can see the result of it," Alma laughs and points at her belly.

Sandra has to laugh, too. But then she gets confused again.

"But how is that even possible? You ymbrynes are living in these time things where no one of us could visit - that was one of the main reasons we would have never let Ayla go with her. And you don't age forward, so how can you even be pregnant or how can the child grow? And how can you even be here? I mean we're in the real world right now, aren't we?"

Sandra has one question after another and each of them brings new questions with it, increasing her confusion.

Miss Peregrine has to laugh.

"I have to say that you're very well informed about our world," she says.

Sandra shrugs. "This ymbryne told us a lot, so that we can at least inform Ayla about her world later when she's old enough but after these two years I've already forgotten a lot."

"I'm sure you still know the most important things," Miss Peregrine assures her.

"You have been right with everything you said. But I can assure you that we're not in a loop. You probably don't know it but we had a serious situation in our world one year ago. To explain it, we would have to talk for hours but the most important thing is that the result was that my children and I had to give up our loop and are now somehow able to leave loops. That's the reason while we're living in the present now and we're aging one day at a time, like you do. And so does the baby."

"Wow," Sandra just says. She would have never thought she would meet such an ymbryne again and especially not like that.

Deep in discussion, both women haven't noticed Sandra's husband coming back. He is alone as he has left the boys with the girls in the pool.

Approaching his wife he sits down and gives her a kiss.

"What's up? You look a bit confused."

Sandra has to laugh.

"Yes, I guess I am. You wouldn't believe what just happened?"

"What?" he asks back.

"This woman is an ymbryne and her children are all like Ayla."

"Really?" he answers. "Is she here to take Ayla with her?"

"Of course not," Sandra and Alma say.

"She's just here with her children like we are."

"Yes, "Miss Peregrine confirms. "I didn't even know about your daughter."

"Alright," Sandra's husband sighs relieved.

"That's amazing! So maybe, Ayla can still live with us but also stay in contact with you and your children, if she might have questions or something," Sandra asks hopefully.

"Of course!" Alma assures her. "I'm sure that my children will be happy to know another peculiar child and also your other kids are welcome at our place every time, we wouldn't want to exclude them. It's already so amazing that you're still a happy family and living together, I wouldn't want to cause jealousy or something among the siblings."

"That's very nice of you," the young couple says. "Thank you!"

"You're very welcome! I'm so happy to know that there are still parents like you and I can't tell you often enough that your love for your daughter is something special," Miss Peregrine replies.

The rest of the afternoon, the two families spend a wonderful time. The adults have explained everything about their conversation to the children and as there wasn't a secret between them anymore, they had lots of fun together. All the children had to secretly show their peculiarities to the new family before they went swimming once more. Also the adults went into the cool water a couple of times and kept talking about everything.

In the end they all said goodbye but with the promise of keeping in touch and meeting again soon. Especially Ayla is more than happy to have met other peculiars and to know an ymbryne who can answer all her questions and help her control her gift.

After a very long day, Miss Peregrine and the children arrive back home. They are all tired and especially Miss Peregrine is exhausted. Luckily Ethan and the others have returned before them and are already making dinner. So they only have to unpack their things, wash their hands and sit down at the table.

Enthusiastically, the children tell Ethan and the teens everything about their day and mostly about the other family. Both teenage couples are as surprised and as happy as Miss Peregrine about this strong bond between the parents and their daughter and they and Ethan are already looking forward to meeting them soon.

Immediately after dinner, the children go to bed voluntarily as they are so tired. Ethan cleans up the kitchen while Miss Peregrine gets ready for bed before they both meet in her room.

Alma is already lying on the bed as Ethan approaches her, also ready for bed.

"You look good," he says.

"Do I?" Miss Peregrine laughs. "I feel so tired."

Ethan nods thoughtfully.

"Maybe it was a bit too much for you, with the children on your own. I should have come with you or at least driven you to the swimming pool," Ethan blames himself.

"That's sweet of you, but it was alright. You know, everything makes me tired at the moment. The children were so good so I relaxed a lot and also the water was really helping with everything," she assures him.

"That's good to hear," he says while getting all the things he needs and sitting down in front of Alma.

"Your legs really look better than usually," he confirms and starts with a foot massage before going up to Alma's back.

She's really enjoying it and relaxes under Ethan's magical touch. After lotioning Alma and focussing especially on her few tiny stretch marks, he puts the things on their nightstand and lays down next to Alma, taking her in his arms and kissing her passionately. With her breathlessness, they have to stop more often than usually but they still enjoy it.

"I love you," Ethan whispers in her ear as they've switched off the light and laid down under the blanket.

Ethan still thinks about what he talked to the teenagers about earlier. He's still so happy and grateful that he has found Alma and they are all right: He will never want to live without her again and what's a better way to show her than proposing to her. He's not sure when he will do it, though.

"I love you, too," Alma sighs quietly as she's already half asleep in Ethan's safe arms.

One last time he kisses her head, before they drift off to sleep.


	56. Chapter 26 Part I

**Chapter 26**

 **Part I**

"Miss P., can I also have a blue fairy hat in the same fabric as the dress?" Fiona asks excitedly.

"When exactly will you need the costumes again?" Miss Peregrine sighs while pinching the bridge of her nose. She's currently measuring Bronwyn and pins some parts of the things, she has already sewed. A few other children are sitting on the couches next to them.

"I think we should have them by next Wednesday, when we will have our final rehearsal," Hugh explains putting away the fabric for his costume, that he has just inspected.

"Miss Peregrine!" Claire calls from out of her room. But no one can hear her as another discussion starts in the corridor.

"Millard! Stop running around naked! Bumping into you without clothes is just disgusting!" Horace shouts.

"Calm down!" Millard retorts. "I'm just coming out of the bathroom, should I have taken a shower with clothes on? I will dress when I'm in my room, alright."

"That's no excuse, we others take our clothes with us when we want to shower or at least take a towel with us," Horace insists.

"Stop fighting, you two," Emma intervenes as she just crosses the corridor. Together with Olive she's cleaning the house, to take a bit of the load off Miss Peregrine. The teenagers have already noticed that Miss Peregrine is slowly reaching her limits and are doing their best to support her even thought they also have to do a lot for school.

"Go into your room and get dressed Millard and you, Horace, you should rather find something to help than making more stress." Annoyed, the two boys walk off again.

"Alright, I think we'll manage," Miss Peregrine says to Fiona and Hugh. "But I don't like it very much, that they organized everything on such short notice. Sewing five costumes in only one week is a lot of work."

"We could still buy them," Enoch offers. He is joining the others in the living room as he has just watered the plants in the garden.

"No, I want to have a self-made costume, most of the other children get one, too," Bronwyn complains freeing herself from the half ready costume.

"Yes, you'll get your costumes," Miss Peregrine assures them smiling, while the twins as well as Bronwyn and Fiona happily jump off the couches.

"Miss Peregrine! Can you come please!" Claire calls again, now even louder and slightly panicky.

Sighing, Miss Peregrine tries to sit up from the couch. Lately it has gotten really hard to get up, no matter if it's from the bed, the couch or just a chair. All in all she feels like there's no energy left anymore. She doesn't feel like doing anything and all her duties are getting too much. Even if it has been a happy time, she's now really looking forward to the end of pregnancy and can't wait to finally meet her child and get it all over with.

As the last week has been extra stressful with all the summer holiday parties at the children's schools and sports clubs and Ethan can't help more than before, already busy enough with his work, the renovation and supporting Miss Peregrine in the evenings, all the children had to help a lot and they are all trying to manage everything until the holiday will start next week.

Ethan's mother as well as Miss Avocet have been in touch regularly and offered to help them. Miss Peregrine didn't want Olivia to go through so much trouble and come over, though, but with Miss Avocet she had no chance as the older ymbryne always knows what she's really thinking, even if Miss Peregrine tried to assure her that everything is alright. That's why Miss Avocet had stayed with them from Tuesday to Thursday, the days when most of the children had their activities and Miss Peregrine started with the costumes.

But now, as there's only one last big event, the local summer theatre play, where a lot of schools take part in, all family members are trying their best to survive these few days before everything hopefully gets a bit more quiet during the holiday time.

Still they are using every free minute to pack up their things for moving to Ethan. He and the boys are doing their best but may still need some time to finish the last things, but Miss Peregrine wants everything to be prepared for when the time comes. And also until Jake's parents return it's not long and she doesn't want to impose on them longer than necessary. So if Ethan can manage everything at the house, she wants to move as soon as Jake's parents arrive back home.

"Miss Peregrine, when can we eat dinner?" Millard shouts from the corridor. He has at least put on a pair of trousers and a shirt and walks into the living room.

"I'll start very soon, Millard," Miss Peregrine assures him as she walks over to Claire's room.

"Finally," Claire exclaims, as her ymbryne opens the door.

"What's wrong?" Miss Peregrine asks tiredly.

This day seems like the hardest and it feels like it's never going to end. It has even started quite relaxed as she spent the morning sitting on the couch, preparing the fabrics for the costumes. And also the early afternoon, as all the children came home, was fine.

Emma and Olive have luckily taken over the weekly housecleaning and Jake offered to do the grocery-shopping. This left Miss Peregrine sitting on the couch to carry on with the costumes. But especially during the last hour it has gotten a lot more stressful with all the children either fighting or wanting something from her.

"There!" Claire says and points at a spot on the ground in the corner of the room. She herself is standing on her desk chair, clinging to the arm rest, as the chair is starting to turn as soon as she moves.

"What's down there? And what are you doing up on the chair?" Miss Peregrine asks and walks over to steady her girl. "That's dangerous Claire! I can't use you having an accident on top of everything else today."

"But there's a spider, Miss P.!" Claire explains and points at the ground again.

Miss Peregrine sighs. "Ok, I'll get her but only if you come down."

Claire nods and climbs off the chair, but still hiding behind her ymbryne and keeping a safe distance.

Slowly, Miss Peregrine walks over to the corner and carefully kneels down. It's very difficult for her right now and with her increasing pelvic pain these days not comfortable at all. Soon though she has reached the spider and takes it in her hand before standing up again, not with less effort. Already out of breath from this little exercise, she holds out the hand. The spider makes her way out of Miss Peregrine's fist and walks over her hand and then climbs up her arm before Miss Peregrine places her other hand in the way to make it walk on top of that.

At seeing it, Claire squeals. "Miss Peregrine, please put that away!"

"Oh, Claire. Don't be afraid of such a little animal. It won't harm you, so you can just put it outside."

Claire shakes her head frantically, so Miss Peregrine just goes over to the window, opens it and releases the spider into a bush.

"There you go!" Miss Peregrine says as she closes the window again. "It's gone and it really wasn't a reason to panic, Claire"

"To me it was," Claire insists, pouting.

Miss Peregrine has to smile about her little girl though as she goes back into the living room. Claire follows her ymbryne and takes her seat on the couch.

"Am I next to be measured?" she asks enthusiastically.

"Not yet, Claire," Miss Peregrine answers. "I have to start making dinner first."

"Claire," Emma snaps as she's just coming back again. She's really annoyed with her little sister for being such a handful, while Olive and her are doing everything they can to make less work for their ymbryne.

"It's alright," Miss Peregrine reassures them. But as soon as she has disappeared into the kitchen, Emma keeps reprimanding her younger siblings.

"That applies to all of you," she says. "Can't you see that we have to help Miss Peregrine instead of making more work for her?"

The children start talking all at the same time, each of them having a discussion with another one, while Emma keeps forcing her point. Of course none of them wants to make it hard for Miss Peregrine but as she's really good at hiding her weak side from the younger ones they don't get reminded of her need for help as often as the teenagers. And most of them can't imagine that it feels so much different when being that pregnant.

As their discussions get really loud , the front door opens and Ethan comes home from work. Slightly amused he takes in the situation.

"Who's making all this fuss?" he asks and storms into the crowd, trying to catch and tickle as many children as possible. After their little fight, during which Emma has kept talking, Ethan has to agree with her though.

"But Emma is right, children. We need your help at the moment. You may have noticed that the last days have already been quite hard and that won't change any time soon," Ethan starts to explain but decides to keep the rest of his talk for another time.

"For now, you boys go and set the table and you others tidy up the living room and your own rooms. Otherwise I will find a way to show you what it means to be heavily pregnant. Even if I have to go out and buy 8 watermelons and tie them around your waists," Ethan threatens jokingly and winks at the children.

"Whatever..." Millard and Hugh retort, amused but also slightly annoyed by Ethan's and Emma's lecture and not at all happy about their task.

Reluctantly, the others walk off as well while Emma goes back to Olive to finish the cleaning and Ethan walks into the kitchen to greet Miss Peregrine. As she's just standing in front of the stove, he embraces her from behind.

"Hey," he says and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Are you doing more than you're supposed to again?" Teasingly, Ethan tickles her side, making Alma giggle and squirm in his arms.

"I thought we agreed that you do a bit less until the birth?" Ethan asks, raising his eyebrows. "And I told you that I can take care of cooking dinner when I come home from work."

"I know," Miss Peregrine sighs, leaning back into his arms. "But the children are hungry and I had enough of sewing and needed a change of scenery."

"That's not an excuse and you know that I'm not really happy about you making all the costumes either. You have already enough to do as it is and remember: Would you be working, you were in your maternity leave by now and that with good reason. A pregnancy, especially in its late stages is a huge burden for your body, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that. And what you're doing here at home is very much comparable to the work of others."

"I know, I know," Miss Peregrine answers. She's tired and doesn't want to argue with Ethan, also knowing that he's right.

"But I can't help it. It's not a job to me, you know. Caring for the children is my life and has been for more than 70 years. I can't just stop and leave them to themselves."

"I know that, too. But I will still remind you to take care of yourself whenever I see the need, alright?" Ethan asks.

"Of course, thank you," Alma answers and returns the kiss from earlier.

"Ok, then you better get back into the living room and let me finish here," Ethan says and tickles Alma again until she puts away the pot and gives Ethan the stirring spoon.

"I give up," she laughs and leaves Ethan alone.

In the living room, it has gotten quiet and empty by now. The younger children are all in their rooms and Millard and Hugh have just cleared the table, so they can set it now.

Miss Peregrine walks over to the couches again. Carefully she picks up her sewing stuff. She won't do any work tonight but she also has to admit that she has already done a lot: The costume for the twins is ready, as well as Fiona's, except for the hat. Bronwyn's costume is half done and the fabrics for Claire's and Hugh's are already cut into the right shapes and just need to be sewed together. The rest is just decoration and the final touch.

Relieved Miss Peregrine puts the things aside. Maybe it won't be that stressful after all and she can finish everything till next week. The children are already excited and looking forward to their performance and also Miss Peregrine is really happy that the schools are organizing such an event each summer, even if it means a bit of work for her at the moment. But Enoch was right, it's her own decision to sew the costumes instead of just buying them, but as an ymbryne, Miss Peregrine feels that it's her duty to do just the best for her children and she has always preferred self-made things.

Until Ethan is ready with the dinner and all the children come back into the living room, Miss Peregrine lies down on the couch, happy to put her feet up again.

Just a few minutes later, Emma and Olive join her, finally done with the housecleaning.

"Now everything is clean again," Olive says proudly while letting herself fall onto the couch. Emma does the same, smiling.

"Thank you so much, girls," Miss Peregrine says. "You're really wonderful and I don't know what to say."

She still feels slightly bad for letting her children do all the work and she's doing her best to do as much as possible. It's not like her at all to accept help from others, especially not with her duties. But as everything keeps getting harder and more exhausting, Miss Peregrine has finally reached the point, where she's ready to let others support her.

"No need Miss P.," Olive answers. "It was actually kind of fun, doing it together with Emma, while listening to some music."

"Oh, yes," Emma says giggling and winks at Olive. "We had also lots of stuff to talk about."

"Oh, boys stuff?" Miss asks teasingly and her girls have to laugh.

Together, the three women talk about everything that's going on in their relationships. What's funny about their partners, what's annoying or adorable, how they handle little disagreements and what's the best way to dominate the relationship.

For nearly the first time Miss Peregrine realizes, that it's in fact really nice that her girls are aging now. Of course she has always been close with them but now as they're becoming women, she can share other things with them and their relationships grow in a different way.

As all three of them are nearly choking because they are laughing so much, Miss Peregrine gives a surprised sound. Both girls look at her questioningly.

"The child," is all that Miss Peregrine can say, still laughing as well as trying to regain her composure.

As Olive and Emma still don't understand and even start worrying, Alma tries to finish her sentence.

"It has started moving again and it's really going crazy this time," she explains beaming while moving her hand in circles over her stomach.

Also Emma and Olive have to smile.

"Can we feel it again?" they ask excitedly.

"Of course," Miss Peregrine answers happily and takes her girls hands to show them where to feel for the child.

"It's probably one of the last times we will be able to feel it this much. Its movement is supposed to get less intense as it's growing and there's less room."

"That's just amazing," Olive says, her hand placed below Miss Peregrine's belly button. "I wish I will feel something like that one day."

"I'm sure you will, both of you," Miss Peregrine assures her girls who look back happily and in anticipation of their future.

"On the one hand it would be wonderful to have a family with Enoch and Jake but on the other, it's a bit early to plan something like that. I mean you can't expect your first boyfriend to become your husband, especially not in this modern times," Emma thinks aloud, worrying about the possibility of a separation.

Olive nods understandingly, she has thought about the same thing.

"I know," Miss Peregrine answers. "But no one knows what the future holds. I would have never thought to find a partner and to have a child of my own one day. But the only thing you can do is to enjoy the present and make the most of it, girls. And who knows, maybe you will have such a future together or maybe you won't. Then you will surely find another partner, that loves you."

The girls nod thoughtfully.

"But I think that the chances are pretty good," Miss Peregrine continues. " You've been knowing each other for a very long time, especially you and Enoch, Olive. Not many other men would fit in a world like we're living in and would understand you as much as your boys do, it would be very difficult to integrate a non peculiar partner. But look at Ethan, it can still work."

"Yes, it does," Emma says happily as she thinks about the relationship between her ymbryne and Ethan.

"He is very understanding and open-minded," Olive adds thoughtfully. "I hope he will never feel shut out, though."

"What do you mean?" Emma asks her confused.

Olive shrugs. "I don't know but I bet it's also kind of difficult for him with everything. We're so close as we've lived together for so long and there are so many things he has to catch up on. And also with visiting Miss Avocet and the others, he will never be able to go with us," Olive points out.

"I know what you mean," Miss Peregrine answers while Emma thinks about it. "I was wondering the same thing from time to time. But I guess Ethan is the kind of man who can live with it. He's really interested and good at asking and learning about our past. As for visiting other loops, it's sad but we'll manage. Either a few of us will stay with him or we'll give him some free time on his own. I bet he will need that regularly when we'll live together."

All three of them laugh.

"Yes, that's very likely," Emma agrees.

"And maybe he will have the child to keep him company," Olive adds. "Even if it might be possible that it's peculiar there's at least the same possibility that it's not, right?"

Miss Peregrine nods.

"That's right, Olive. Ethan and I have already talked about it. The possibility that the child might be peculiar is also the reason why we decided on having a homebirth. It would just be too risky if it's obvious and the staff of the hospital can see it."

"Oh, yes of course. I've never really thought of that," Emma says.

"But still, it can also be normal, that's correct, Olive. And to be honest, that would also be quite convenient as it would result in a special bond with Ethan and he won't be the only normal in our family. But we'll take it as it comes, girls," Miss Peregrine says as she lets her hand move over her baby bump.

Smiling, Emma thinks about it.

"I kind of like the idea of having another little peculiar in the family. And it's interesting to wonder what peculiarity it might have."

"Oh yes, I like that, too. But Miss P. is right we shouldn't get our hopes up and the child will be just as perfect, even if it's normal."

"Exactly," Miss Peregrine agrees again. But it still doesn't change the fact that the girls start imagining all possible peculiarities.


	57. Chapter 26 Part II

**Chapter 26**

 **Part II**

"Children! Dinner is ready!" Ethan calls as he's just serving everything he has prepared.

One after another all the children come out of their rooms, go wash their hands and sit down at the table.

During the dinner, the children are very joyful and talk a lot. Ethan's food really appeals to them, which is a big honour for him as he's not good at cooking at all - or at least he always thought so and was told by for example his mother.

As they are starting the dessert - vanilla cream with little slices of water melon as decoration - the children are joking about Ethan's earlier comment.

"Is this one of your imaginary babies?" Bronwyn asks laughing and Claire giggles as well. Also the other children join in, just Miss Peregrine frowns.

"No, this is no baby, just a normal melon," Ethan answers laughing and as Alma looks at him questioningly he starts explaining.

"I was threatening to show them what it means to be pregnant by tying water melons around their bellies."

"What?" Miss Peregrine asks, now laughing as well. "That idea is crazy!"

Ethan just shrugs and smiles at Alma. "I wanted them to know how exhausting it is for you!"

"That's really sweet of you," Miss Peregrine laughs and gives Ethan a kiss.

"Even if it was just a joke, I would still like to know what it feels to carry a baby inside you all the time," Claire says excitedly.

The rest of the children laugh.

"We can still buy another melon and you can try it, Claire," Ethan suggests which makes Claire nod in agreement.

"It's not much fun, Claire," Miss Peregrine laughs. "It's really exhausting but at the same time wonderful to know that there's your own child growing inside you. Maybe you will know what it feels like one day."

Claire smiles but Miss Peregrine gets quite thoughtful. She can't imagine her little girl growing so old that she will have children of her own.

But soon the others start talking again and she is ripped out of her thoughts.

Ethan makes the children clear the table and together with the teenagers he cleans everything in the kitchen.

Miss Peregrine makes the younger ones get ready for bed before they meet on the couches again. Their daily movie time in the evening is something they always try to have together, no matter how stressful the day was.

Miss Peregrine likes to relax on the couch but still have her children around, without having to do anything - just spending time with them. Since they came here, these moments with her and the children have gotten less with their new daily routine. In their old loop they used to be together the whole time but now there's school, hobbies, play dates and all other things and the only thing that's left is dinner with their movie time afterwards.

They already have three big couches but with the children growing and Miss Peregrine lying to put her feet up, the children would love to have another one - something that Ethan has already considered for his house. For now the younger children try to share the couches and the couples are getting closer together, what they don't really mind. Emma is leaning into Jake's arms, enjoying the closeness. She hopes that they will still have these moments together after moving to Ethan.

But as she was brought up to be optimistic, she's now trying to see the upside of it all and is looking forward to quiet evenings alone or even with Jake's parents. Emma liked them as they still lived together and even if they had difficulties in the beginning, with his parents being so averse to them all and Emma still kind of bearing grudges against them for treating Jake like they did before they arrived, it has gotten a lot better in time and she got the impression that Jake's parents also accepted her as his girlfriend.

As the movie has finished, the children go to bed. The younger ones are already tired and the older children always spend some more time in their rooms, talking or doing stuff on their phones until they are tired enough to go to sleep as well.

Also Miss Peregrine and Ethan don't sleep immediately. After getting ready for bed and having their massaging ritual, they lie next to each other and talk about the day and everything else that comes to their mind.

"Long day, huh?" Ethan asks.

"Yes," Miss Peregrine yawns.

"Thanks for cooking and for handling the children and everything else," Miss Peregrine adds smiling and kisses Ethan's cheek.

"Hey, no need to thank me. Even though I liked your way of showing your gratitude," Ethan says laughing and returns the kiss.

"You did good this week though," he says then.

Miss Peregrine looks up at Ethan and frowns.

"With letting us help you," Ethan clarifies.

"I had no other choice," Alma laughs. "But yeah, I don't like it when the children do my work."

"I understand that," Ethan says in a soft voice."But it's necessary. I'm doing as much as possible but there's still a lot left for them."

Miss Peregrine gives a sound of agreement, although reluctantly.

"This week has already been hard for you and it's not going to get easier," Ethan continues.

"But we'll manage," Alma cuts in. " We somehow did before, so we'll do it again and soon the children will at least have their holidays."

"But until then there's still one week and with the school summer festival and sewing the costumes it's just a lot extra work and stress."

"I know," Alma sighs, thinking about all the costumes she has to finish while still doing her daily chores.

"And I will have a very busy week as well, there are always a lot more patients just before the holiday season begins and on top of that, Amelia has called in sick on Friday. She surely won't be back next week so I will have to work long hours which will leave you at home alone with all the work. I'm afraid that it's getting a bit too much, especially if you don't ask the children for help."

"Yes, alright, it's not ideal but it will surely work out somehow and with the prospect of the holidays so close it will be easier, I'm sure of it," Alma wants to assure Ethan but he's not convinced.

"Can't you ask Miss Avocet again?" he suggests. "She could at least come for two days and take the children or help you with the costumes."

"I don't know," Miss Peregrine answers. "I don't want to burden her with my things as well - she has already lots of work of her own."

"But she has less children and an extra ymbryne to help her," Ethan insists.

"Which she has to train on top of everything else and that's work, too. Besides, Miss Avocet has three toddlers and her other children are also new. I may have more children but I've been living with them for nearly a century. Miss Avocet has lost all her children and has now found new peculiars. They might still be traumatised, need lots of devotion and have to get used to their new environment. Furthermore she has to train their peculiarities with them, in the beginning it takes some work until the children learn how to handle them."

Ethan thinks about her arguments while letting his hand caress Alma's back as she's still lying in his arms.

"That might be true but she still found the time to help you last week, so I'm quite sure that she can make it possible a second time if you ask her. And be honest to yourself, Alma, you need the help. You're 8 months pregnant and there are a lot of things you can't do anymore or that are too much, especially with the extra work for the theatre play and the school festival," Ethan reasons.

"Ok, you're right," Alma sighs, just to end the conversation. "I'll call her tomorrow and ask if she can come again."

"Good girl" Ethan laughs and plants a kiss on Alma's head, taking in her scent as well as her shampoo. He just laughs her raven hair, it was one of the first things he got mesmerized by, as well as by her beautiful blue eyes and the endless love he saw inside them, as she came into his office with Claire in her arms.

"That still leaves the first two weeks of the holidays, though," he points out.

"What about them?" Alma asks and looks back up at Ethan again.

"First, the children will be at home the whole day, they would want to do stuff and not just stay in the house, you won't have a free minute to yourself and I will have to take part in this training of the continuing medical education program after work."

"Oh, I completely forgot about that," Alma says surprised. "But we'll manage, I guess it's still easier during the holidays."

"Shall I talk to the teenagers, that they help you or do some things with the children? I already heard the others planning a day at the beach and other things, they want to do. And I can't imagine you spending the hole day on your feet somewhere outside in the heat, can you?" Ethan asks back.

"No, of course not," Alma sighs." But the four of them are already doing so much, I don't want them to do more, they need their holidays, too."

"But then we're back at the same problem, you can't do everything alone. And I'm so sorry to leave you like that, but I have to work to be able to stay at home with you the weeks before the birth as well as some time afterwards and I also have to get this certificate as we will need the extra money in the future," Ethan explains desperately. It really hurts him to know that he leaves Alma alone with all the work at home as well as packing up their stuff for moving to his house.

"It's alright," Alma answers and strokes Ethan's cheek. "I know that it's best this way and me and the children will cope, I'm sure. And if worst comes to worst I can still ask Miss Avocet again. Maybe I'll even be able to send the children off to their friends for some time and I'm sure that Sandra might take a few of them as well for a day or two. Even if we think that it's impossible now, it'll always work out somehow in the end."

"I hope you're right," Ethan says and returns a forced smile.

"Yes and now let's go to sleep, or..." Miss Peregrine suggests and lifts herself up to crawl back up to Ethan. With her arms on each side of his body, supporting her weight, she leans down and begins to plant kisses all over Ethan's chest, neck and then face, before she finally settles on his mouth for a deep and passionate kiss.

Way too soon for her liking she has to pull back, completely out of breath but smiling.

"Are you sure?" Ethan asks her and raises one eyebrow.

"Probably not" Alma laughs, falling back onto the mattress and Ethan has to laugh as well. "I'm really tired but I don't want to fall asleep with all these negative thoughts in my head."

"Neither do I," Ethan answers. "Come here." He takes her back in his arms and embraces her still slender upper body while his hands find their place on her baby bump.

"I've got another idea," he says then.

"Okay," Miss Peregrine says expectantly.

"Today there was this patient in my office, a young woman, and she came with her gorgeous little girl, only a few months old," Ethan starts and Alma has to smile, imagining this tiny baby.

"Her name was Rita and she had beautiful brown locks and blue eyes," Ethan reports.

"That's a beautiful name," Alma says absentmindedly, already thinking ahead.

"That's what I thought," Ethan agrees, letting his hand stroke Alma's right waist where he feels the baby kick. During her last appointment at Catherine's they saw that the baby has turned around, so that it's now in the right birth position. It's feet and arms are usually on Alma's right side where she can feel it regularly.

"It made me wonder about the name of our child, have you thought about it yet?" Ethan wants to know.

"Hmm," Alma answers. "A little bit but not really. Of course you hear names and think 'they are nice or not' but not specifically. Have you?"

"Sometimes, as you said, when I hear names, usually at work. Are there any names you really like?"

Miss Peregrine thinks for a while.

"I've always really liked the name Judith or Rose for a girl. Although I think it's really hard to decide on one name and I'm happy that I didn't have to choose the names of the children myself," Alma laughs. "And especially boys names are harder to find, in my opinion."

Ethan nods. "I think so too. For girls I like Charlotte and Amber but your names sound cute as well. And boys names... I once had an Eduardo as a patient, that sounded quite sweet too. And I like Edgar."

"Yes I can really imagine a little boy with such names," Alma says lovingly. "I used to like the names Eugene and Albert but I also like Scandinavian names, they are always cute for boys."

"Yes right, Scandinavian names are always really special and I like that they sound good for little boys as well as adults."

Alma nods, thoughtfully, still thinking about other names.

"I wouldn't have thought that it's so difficult, there are so many names," she sighs laughing. "I mean you want to find a name that we both like, then you want the child to like it too and at the same time you always want to choose a name that's special or that not all the other children in its age have too."

"Exactly," Ethan laughs. "But all these names are a good start. Maybe during the next weeks we can agree on two for a girl and two for a boy, to have a choice for when we will see what it will be after the birth. And I think two names for a child are quite alright and not so embarrassing like when parents choose 4 names or more."

"Definitely not so many names," Alma agrees. "But yes, two names sounds good. We could choose a name we really like each, of course if the other one can accept the name, too. That's maybe easier than really agreeing on one together ."

"Good idea," Ethan says and kisses Alma again.

"And with that in mind, I'm sure we'll now have great thoughts. And when hopefully the little one stops kicking soon, we can have a relaxing night, ey?"

"Yes," Alma says smiling and places her hand next to Ethan's where they can still feel the baby's movements. She has long gotten used to not sleeping much at night. Usually the child starts moving as soon as she lies down and even when it calms down she can't sleep very long in a row. Every position she finds gets uncomfortable after a while and her hips start hurting or some cramps that are slowly increasing by now are keeping her awake some nights. But all in all she's fine with it, it's just all part of the game and no matter if she sleeps at night or not, she gets always tired during the day anyway.

Alma turns onto her side and snuggles up to Ethan.

"Goodnight," they both whisper to each other before falling quiet, possibly thinking about their favourite names before drifting off to sleep.

During the weekend Ethan tries to support Miss Peregrine, so that they can spend a nearly relaxed time. At home he entertains the children and brings them to help him with the house work, so that Alma can keep working at the costumes or get some rest.

Luckily Miss Peregrine has kept her promise and has called Miss Avocet in the morning. Of course she gladly offered to come again and help Alma, which makes Ethan feel relieved, knowing that Alma will get some help. And he also knows that with Miss Avocet being around, Alma won't have the chance to overdo it.

On Sunday, they go for a tour on Ethan's boat, where the children can also swim in the sea while they are stopping a few meters away from the shore. They play games, lie in the sun or the shadow of the cabin and even Miss Peregrine enjoys swimming a bit in the cool water.

After the swimming, the adults always remind the children to reapply their sunscreen as the sun is so strong at the moment. Fiona gets the idea of painting a smiley on their backs, using the sunscreen, so that they will have a natural tattoo by the end of the day. Soon all the children have smileys on their backs but only after applying a foundation first as Miss Peregrine doesn't want them to have a sunburn, even not if it's just a small spot.

Emma and Olive even paint little flowers and twirls on their shoulders which look really good afterwards.

The children also want to decorate Miss Peregrine's baby bump but as she can't lie in the blazing sun her skin stays as pale as always and the paintings remain invisible.

In the early evening they return home and Ethan prepares a wonderful meal while the rest of them take a shower and pack their things away. Miss Peregrine hangs out their wet laundry before she sets the table and waits in the living room until dinner is ready. She hasn't done much today and spent nearly the whole time lying somewhere on the boat but it was still more exhausting than staying at home, so she's glad to put her feet up, sitting on the comfortable couch.

During dinner, the children laugh a lot and retell stories of the day. Especially the younger ones want to compare the intensity of their 'tattoos' but Miss Peregrine tells them to wait until after dinner.

"It's not polite to undress one's backs at the dining table."

Of course Claire and Bronwyn start giggling and Hugh and Millard roll their eyes.

The teenagers want to know what there's to do during the next week and what they can do to help. But Miss Peregrine assures them, that it will be fine if they just do a few things, like maybe the grocery shopping or watering the plants in the garden.

Then she informs the children that Miss Avocet will come again on Tuesday to support them, which makes the children really happy as they love spending time with the older ymbryne.

"But we have to go to the summer holiday party of our soccer team on Tuesday, if you have forgotten about it," Millard reminds Miss Peregrine.

"Yes and on Wednesday there's the last rehearsal for the theatre play," Fiona adds.

"I know, children, I know," Miss Peregrine replies smiling. "I haven't forgotten about it. Jake will drive you to your soccer party after he returns from school, that will be just in time. And on Wednesday Enoch and Olive will accompany you all to your rehearsal and wait until it's over to take you back, alright?"

"But the rehearsal will be during school hours, Miss P.," Hugh points out. "We told you that, remember?"

"Oh, yes, you're right, I briefly forgot about it. Then you go there together with your teachers?"

The children nod.

"All the different school classes will meet with their teachers in the city theatre at around 12 o'clock, I think," Fiona adds.

"Alright, then Enoch and Olive will pick you up in the afternoon."

The children nod contentedly. For Miss Peregrine all these events might be stress but they are really looking forward to everything.

"When will Miss Avocet leave again?" Bronwyn asks.

"She said she can stay away for two nights, so I think she will go back on Thursday, probably in the late afternoon," Miss Peregrine guesses.

"But then there's not much time to spend with her," Claire says slightly disappointed.

"But you can do something with her on Tuesday while the boys are here on Wednesday. And on Thursday school ends pretty early as I recall it, so you will have plenty of time. Besides, if you ask really nicely, she might even stay until dinner."

"That would be great," Bronwyn says happily.

As it's already really late after they have cleaned up everything, the children go to bed immediately, without asking for a movie. They have enjoyed the day on the water but with the hot weather it has still been exhausting for them.

"We should do this more often," Ethan jokes. "When they fall into bed after dinner, we have the evening to ourselves."

"You mean, you have the evening to yourself," Alma laughs. "I'm not up to do much either."

"I know," Ethan says. "But it won't be like that forever."

Miss Peregrine smiles, thinking about the time when their child will be there as well.

"But then we'll have other things to do," she points out.

"But the baby will also be asleep from time to time," Ethan answers. "And then I have you all to myself." He approaches Alma from behind and embraces her, while resting his head on her left shoulder.

After getting ready together, the couple lies down in their bed. They are both tired from the day in the hot weather, but still they keep talking for a while.

"You have a bit of a sunburn," Ethan laughs while leaning over Alma's body and kissing her pointed nose, which has slightly gotten red over the day.

"If that's really true, it's all your fault," Miss Peregrine jokes. "As you were supposed to apply my sunscreen."

"That might be true," Ethan has to admit and grins mischievously. "I may have neglected your nose a tiny bit."

"Yes, so you have to pay for that!" Miss Peregrine decides and starts tickling Ethan until he lies breathlessly next to her. "And now you have to give me a massage, that's at least something you're better at than applying sunscreen."

"You're quite cheeky tonight," Ethan teases. "And you think you deserve a massage."

"Oh yes, I do," Alma retorts and shifts as her position is getting uncomfortable, with her baby bump as well as her pelvis.

"Ok, you're right," Ethan corrects himself, as he remembers what Alma is going through at the moment. Therefore he does his best and gives her a really relaxing massage, during which Alma falls into a peaceful sleep. She may not sleep much in a row at the moment, but when she sleeps, it's at least without any nightmares.


	58. Chapter 27 Part I

**Chapter 27**

 **Part I**

The next week starts as stressful as the last one ended. The children are busy in school as some teachers think they have to teach lots of stuff and do tests until the very last days before the holidays.

At home, they still have to do lots of homework as well as helping Miss Peregrine, who is more than busy with the costumes and cooking for them all. As they already have a lot to do with just the normal daily chores, the renovation in Ethan's house is standing still. There is no way that they spend even one hour there.

On Monday, Ethan doesn't come home until 8 o'clock in the evening. First the patients kept piling up during the day and Ethan wasn't able to treat them all until he had to close the office and then he caught up on the paperwork, that's normally Amelia's job.

As he enters through the front door he's tired and really hungry.

The children are just sitting at the dining table and Miss Peregrine serves the food. They have also had a long afternoon and didn't find the time to eat earlier.

"Just in time," Emma says smiling as Ethan comes in and wants to sit down on his place at the table.

"Now, now, Ethan!" Miss Peregrine warns while placing a big bowl of soup in the middle of the table. "Don't you want to wash your hands before you start eating."

The children have to laugh out loud and Ethan raises his arms in surrender as Miss Peregrine walks back into the kitchen to get some bread.

"I'll better do as told," Ethan adds smirking and winks at the children before he disappears into the bathroom.

As he returns, the children are already eating and complain a lot about their annoying teachers.

Gladly Ethan joins in and tells them about his horror day at work.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Miss Peregrine says. "Have you heard something from Amelia, will she be back soon?"

Ethan shakes his head. "She won't be back until next week, which is good as she needs to be fit again when I need her to help me in the office while I will have to do the training in the evenings. But that means four more long and stressful days," he sighs.

"If I can help you somehow, just let me know," Miss Peregrine offers.

"Nonsense, Alma," Ethan retorts. " You're doing enough and I'm already happy that I can come home and the dinner is ready. I just wish I could support you more and also the rest renovation has to wait for now."

"Don't worry Ethan," Alma tries to assure him. "Tomorrow, Miss Avocet will come, then it will get a lot easier here and I'm already nearly finished with most of the costumes."

"If it helps, Emma and I can come to your office after school," Olive offers. "Yes, we might not be as skilled as your staff, but maybe we can still help with some organizing and paperwork," Emma adds.

Ethan seems to think about the idea for a while, before he answers.

"That's really nice of you two. But you've got your chores already and I don't want you to sacrifice you little free time."

"That's really no problem," Emma assures Ethan. "We may not have lots of time but if one or two hours might help, we would be glad to do it."

"Hmm," Ethan says and looks at Alma to see what she thinks about it. But as she nods at him he says yes.

"I will surely find some small tasks for you that will be of great help for me," he tells Emma and Olive, who smile happily.

"Ok, then we will come at around 4 o'clock, when the boys go to the soccer party," Olive decides and the others nod.

During the next morning, as the children are all in school, Miss Peregrine works at the costumes again. After the children left, she took the bus into town and went swimming for half an hour before she bought some last things for the costumes. Of course she's already fully occupied at home, but she feels like she needs the exercise, too, and swimming has always been good for her body, especially when she's just sitting during the rest of the day.

As she's just finishing with Bronwyn's costume, Alma hears something at the terrace door. Turning around she has to smile as she sees Miss Avocet turning back into her human form.

She walks over and opens the door for her as she's already embraced into a big hug.

"Thank you for coming," Miss Peregrine says as Miss Avocet releases her again.

"Of course, my girl!" she answers. "I told you a couple of times, that I will be there for you whenever you need me to. And I'm really happy that you called, even if I wasn't sure if you would. You've always been too reluctant with accepting help, which isn't good for you."

Miss Peregrine rolls her eyes.

"You look tired, girl. Are you resting enough," Miss Avocet continues as she places her hands on Alma's shoulders to inspect her. She already knows that Alma has done too much lately. Hadn't she been desperate about how to manage their daily life, she wouldn't have asked for help.

"I'm doing my best," Miss Peregrine answers truthfully as she walks back inside.

"Don't get me wrong, though. You look beautiful and happy, just a bit exhausted."

"I know and you're right: It has been a hard week but it's still a wonderful time."

" Good! So, what can I help you with?" Miss Avocet asks and rolls up her sleeves.

Miss Peregrine has to laugh before she smiles at her former ymbryne.

"I'd say you unpack your things first. You can stay in Jake's and Enoch's room," she says and points in the right direction. "Do you want something to drink?"

"It's fine Alma but thank you," Miss Avocet answers before she disappears behind the corner.

Until the children come back from school, Miss Avocet helps Miss Peregrine with the costumes. They talk about everything that's going on in their households. Miss Avocet is really interested in how they are getting on with moving into Ethan's house and how Alma is doing in her pregnancy, while Miss Peregrine wants to know how Miss Avocet is getting along with her new ymbryne in training as well as her new children.

As the younger children enter the house, Miss Peregrine lets them try on their costumes, to make sure that they fit perfectly, while Miss Avocet prepares their lunch.

After eating together, Jake drives the boys to their soccer training/summer party and Olive and Emma take the bus to Ethan's office.

Miss Peregrine relaxes and is happy that she has finally finished the costumes. She lies down in the garden under a big tree and watches the rest of her children play with Miss Avocet. It's just amazing how Miss Avocet, at her age, is still so energetic and agile. Especially at the moment it's something that Alma envies her for, it feels like an eternity ago, that she was able to run around with the children.

Miss Avocet is playing tag with Claire, Fiona, Bronwyn and the twins, then she searches for them while playing hide and seek.

The children are really good at hiding and also Claire has finally learned to keep quiet for as long as she's hidden. Miss Peregrine has to smile to herself while remembering the times, when Claire would talk to her out of her hiding place and would always be the first to be found. Then Claire would be really surprised and started pouting while the other children had to laugh. She really hasn't had an easy time when always being the youngest but at the same time she also had a few advantages. Miss Peregrine knows that she was always a bit easier on Claire, first because she was always the youngest and second because she has been with her since she was so little and has never known a different life. And also her older siblings treated her more friendly and couldn't deny her any wishes - she was just so cute with her blond curls and her beautiful little princess dresses. But nonetheless she grew up to be a nice and considerate little girl not spoiled in any way. And even if, she will have to learn the rest when the baby will be there anyway.

As Miss Avocet has found all the children, she goes back inside and gets something to drink for them all. Again it's a very hot and humid day, so she takes good care that all the children as well as Miss Peregrine drink enough fluids.

Later on, Miss Avocet prepares their dinner and Miss Peregrine and the children sit on the couches, cuddle, talk and listen to some music. The young cat is sitting on Claire's lap, while she strokes its back gently and also Bronwyn has gotten her guinea pigs, one on her lap and one on Fiona's. With time, the cat luckily lost interest in the two little balls of fur and is way too distracted by Claire stroking her to attack them.

Soon the boys return and also Ethan, Emma and Olive come back shortly afterwards. They had to arrange something after finishing in the office.

"These two have been a great help, so I could finish earlier than yesterday," Ethan reports happily waving with the car key.

"Hello Esmeralda, good to see you again," he greets the ymbryne, walking over to her and also Miss Avocet is happy to see Ethan again. He's just one of these guys you immediately feel comfortable around, always in a good mood and with good manners.

"What is that?" Alma asks shocked as she's the only one noticing what Ethan just did. Emma and Olive dart each other a knowing glance and start giggling.

"What do you mean, darling?" Ethan teases Alma as she walks over to him, inspecting the car key in his hand.

"You didn't," she says and looks into his eyes but Ethan just laughs and kisses her.

"I did," he confirms than and smiles at all of the children, who have been watching the couple intently. The younger ones don't know what all this is about but the teenage boys can guess it and Emma and Olive know anyway.

"You really bought a new car?" Alma rephrases her question, still too shocked to understand it.

"I did," Ethan repeats as the children have started cheering. He and Alma have talked about selling Ethan's new car to buy a bigger one, which can accommodate all of them. It's just much easier and economical if they don't have to use two cars to get somewhere. And for little trips they still have Ethan's smaller car, that he has in his garage.

A couple of days ago, Ethan has found an offer in a local shop for a car with 12, 15 or even 18 seats and 15 would just be perfect, even with their new child. But Miss Peregrine wouldn't have thought that Ethan has already decided on it and just bought the car without talking to her again. She doesn't want to accuse him, it's his money and his decision and he knew that she was all for the idea but it's just a surprise. A good one though, so she flings her arms around his neck and kisses him.

"That's really a surprise but I love your spontaneousness and we can really use the car, or shall I say bus?" she jokes.

"It's not that big but yeah it's a huge car."

"But could we really afford it?" Miss Peregrine wants to know.

"I got a really good price for the old car today, that was the reason for my action and for the 'bus' I got a perfect deal as well," Ethan reports proudly. "Do you all want to see it?" he offers to the children who are immediately keen.

After they've all inspected the new car with all its little details and have tested the seats they enjoy Miss Avocet's cooked meal. Of course there's still just one topic at the table: the new car.

Later on Ethan and Miss Avocet clean up everything in the kitchen. The children stay in the dining room with Miss Peregrine. The older ones are packing up some things and put it into boxes for the transport to Ethan's while the younger ones get their costumes from Miss Peregrine to store them away into their school bags. For a short moment, Miss Peregrine wonders what's taking Ethan and Miss Avocet so long and she briefly considers going to help them but then the teenagers call her to decide what things they still need and what they can pack already.

During the evening, Miss Avocet takes care of the children so Alma and Ethan can relax in their room. Together they watch another movie, but the children are more restless than usually. The younger ones are already a bit nervous because of the rehearsal tomorrow. They try on their costumes once more and rehearse a few lines, they always had problems with. Miss Avocet enjoys seeing them so enthusiastic about it and is even a bit sad that she won't see their play on Friday.

The next morning everything is happening as planned: the children go to school as always and will have their rehearsal afterwards.

Miss Avocet has stayed with the children during breakfast, so Miss Peregrine could sleep a bit longer. As the children and Ethan have left, the two ymbrynes enjoy a relaxed breakfast together.

Miss Avocet tells Alma about Bronwyn and Fiona, who have been especially nervous this morning, as well as the twins who couldn't stop rehearsing their movements for later.

Miss Peregrine has to smile. She is in a really good mood and that even if she didn't sleep much last night. The last week has been really stressful but now with Miss Avocet around, everything feels so relaxed again. It was a really good idea of Ethan and Alma is grateful that he talked her into asking Miss Avocet.

But only when thinking about the time when Miss Avocet has left and Ethan will be away all day, she feels unwell again but for now she can still push these thoughts away quite successfully. Therefore even Miss Avocet isn't able to see right through her.

Afterwards, Miss Avocet cleans a few rooms and does the laundry while Miss Peregrine packs a few more moving boxes.

Around lunchtime, the front door opens and Ethan enters the house.

"What are you doing here so early?" Miss Peregrine asks surprised and smiles at him.

"I got lucky," Ethan smiles and kisses her as a greeting. "There weren't many patients today and I close the office on Wednesday afternoons anyway. Besides, Emma and Olive were so good yesterday that I didn't have much to do today and Valerie was there too."

"That's great!" Alma and Miss Avocet exclaim happily.

"Yes, that's what I thought and I even got an idea for us," Ethan says to Alma who raises her eyebrows expectantly.

"I thought we could use the time and go into town, buy a few things that we need, for the new house and the baby."

Alma's smile gets even bigger.

"That's a fantastic idea," she says and kisses Ethan. "That's if it's alright to leave you here like this and with the kids later," she adds and looks at Miss Avocet.

"Of course, Alma!" she answers. "That's exactly what I'm here for and you two parents-to-be deserve some time alone before the baby will be there."

"Thank you Esmeralda," Ethan says before he and Alma get ready to leave in his old car.

In the city centre the couple walks through the street with the most shops. They find some beautiful things for the children, like for example pictures for the walls, a few plants for Fiona's room and beautiful curtains and fabrics for Claire's and Bronwyn's room.

As they also find some bigger things like beanbag chairs or a huge blackboard for the twins, they pay for it and have it delivered to Ethan's house.

As a second stop, Ethan takes Alma to a baby store, where they want to buy a stroller and a car seat for the child. They have already gathered a lot of information and are now able to decide quickly which one they want. But of course they don't leave the store with just these two things.

Once inside, Alma stops at every corner and also Ethan finds it hard to walk past a few things. There are just so many cute clothes for babies.

"Can we please take this?" Alma begs smiling at Ethan. He just needs to look into her eyes and can't say no. Then his eyes fall on the dress in her hand. It's blue and white and looks like a sailor's suit.

"Oh, Alma," Ethan sighs laughing.

"But isn't it cute?" Miss Peregrine insists.

"It is," Ethan confirms. "As are most of the things here in the store but we still can't buy it all and this is another dress and we still don't know if it's going to be a girl or a boy."

"But this one is especially cute," Miss Peregrine pouts.

"Okay, okay, we can take that one as well. And if it's going to be a boy, we'll just have to have another child and hope that it's going to be a girl," Ethan decides and sticks out his tongue.

"I'm not so sure about that and at the moment it's not the best time to convince me of a second pregnancy, Ethan," Alma retorts.

"You wanted the dress," Ethan laughs and takes Alma in his arms to plant a kiss onto her forehead.

In the end they leave the shop with a lot more things. As it's the first time they are really shopping baby equipment and as there's not much time until the birth, there are multiple things they find and need. Ethan has chosen a few other clothes for the baby including one-piece outfits, shirts, leggings, jackets, socks, a baby cap and a little sun hat - everything suitable for boys as well as girls.

Miss Peregrine finds a musical soft toy in the shape of a colourful fish, a small bathtub for babies, two bottles and pacifiers, three different bibs, washcloths and other basics.

They even buy a stock of diapers and other little things like that as well as stuff for Alma after the birth. There's still some time until then but Miss Peregrine is not sure if she will do another trip into town with the stress at home and everything.

 _And there they are again. The negative thoughts about the upcoming weeks. Even if Alma has just spent some happy and carefree minutes without thinking about it, they returned._

But before Miss Peregrine can dwell on such thoughts, she gets distracted once more as she finds a pair of gorgeous baby shoes. Immediately she takes them to show Ethan.

He is by now getting impatient and wants to leave this store to eat something for lunch. Of course he likes shopping baby stuff as well but apparently not as much as Alma, who has filled more than half of their trolley.

"They are lovely, Alma," he says nonetheless, pushing the trolley towards the checkout while walking next to Alma and stroking her back.

"But they would be even lovelier if we could leave now, I'm already really hungry."

Now it's Miss Peregrine's turn to laugh.

"Alright, alright, I think we might have everything we need and I feel like eating, too," she answers.

"Yes and if not I can still buy the rest another time," Ethan says as he's already placing their purchase onto the conveyor belt.

After leaving the store, Ethan brings everything into his car and then meets Alma in front of a little bistro, where they want to have a snack. They are choosing a table, sit down and have a look at the menu.

After ordering their drinks they think about what to eat. While Miss Peregrine feels like something light Ethan is now really hungry and craves something with meat.

"Men," Alma laughs and keeps looking at the soup section. But then she smells something and looks around.

"Ugh... Ethan, can we please choose another table?" she asks then. Ethan looks up questioningly and sees Alma grimacing.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asks back and as Alma moves her head to the direction behind him he turns around. A few meters away sits an older woman who is just lightening her cigarette.

"I'm sorry but I can't take that smell today ," Alma sighs annoyed and already starts getting her bag to change the table.

"How did you smell that from so far away and so soon?" Ethan asks astonished.

"I don't know," Alma shrugs. "I've always had good senses and I think I can even smell better since the pregnancy."

"Oh of course," Ethan answers. "But I still don't smell anything," he laughs then. "But my nose has been a bit congested since this morning, so that's probably the reason why."

"Are you getting sick?" Alma worries and looks at Ethan.

"Nah," he answers. "Just caught a virus or something at work but I never get really sick," he assures her. "But you should be careful. Your immune system is pretty weakened at the moment, which is quite necessary during the pregnancy but it still leaves you with a higher risk of getting sick," Ethan warns.

"Yes, I know but thank you, I will be careful. But can we leave this table now, or I won't fell like eating at all," Alma complains as the smell gets stronger and she begins to feel nauseous.

"Oh yes, of course" Ethan answers quickly and stands up to find a table further away with Alma following him.

Some of the other guests glance at them, probably wondering what they're doing but they don't care about them. Alma is used to be looked at. She has always stuck out when visiting the present, while still living in her loop and since she's really pregnant, people stare anyway.

"It's funny, though that you can't smell that anymore," Ethan points out. "As I remember it correctly, you used to smoke a lot yourself."

"I know," Alma answers. "Although I never smoked cigarettes but also the smell of my pipe makes me feel sick these days."

"Hmm... I think that's normal during pregnancy and it'll probably change again."

Alma shrugs. "Maybe. But it's not really important. I won't smoke with a baby in the house anyway. I never did when Claire was little either."

Ethan smiles back, again falling in love with her, just for her motherly side, like when he first saw her.


	59. Chapter 27 Part II

**Chapter 27**

 **Part II**

Meanwhile the children have finished with their rehearsal and are on their way back home. Enoch and Olive have seen the last few minutes and are already looking forward to the whole play. Their younger siblings just look too cute in their costumes.

Of course not everything went perfect today but as their teachers told them: It's better when it's happening now than during the final show.

Fiona and Bronwyn forgot a few lines, so confused by being in this new environment with the set design and the big hall with its many chairs.

Claire fell over her costume once, not used to such a long dress and the twins had problems moving simultaneously under their shared costume.

Only Hugh was satisfied with his performance and hopes that it will be the same on Friday. This time he wasn't nervous at all as all the children are a lot younger than him. But when there will be a big audience with all the parents, it will probably be a different thing.

On their way back home, they keep talking in the car. The children want to know what Olive and Enoch thought of it and told them about their mistakes. Then Enoch turns up the radio as they are playing their favourite summer song of this year and all the children start singing and dancing in their seats.

The people they pass on their way back home must think that they're crazy but they don't care as they're having lots of fun together.

At home, Miss Avocet is already waiting with a cooked meal. Also the other children are at home and have waited for them with eating.

At the table, Claire and Bronwyn retell their experiences from today. Miss Avocet is really interested in everything and wants to know the whole story of the play as she won't be able to see it. Then Bronwyn and Fiona get the idea of putting on their costumes and play a few scenes just to show them to Miss Avocet.

"That would be great," Miss Avocet says. "But you have to be quick, we have a lot to do during the afternoon until Miss Peregrine and Ethan return."

"What, why?" the children ask curiously.

"That's a surprise," Miss Avocet answers mysteriously and raises her index finger to her lips while winking at the children. "So go get your costumes and present me a spectacular show!"

After the children have shown Miss Avocet their best scenes and the older ones have cleaned up everything, they meet at the dining table again.

"Can you tell us the surprise now, please!" Claire begs impatiently.

"I can," Miss Avocet laughs. "You all know that Miss Peregrine is soon having a baby, right?"

All the children nod enthusiastically.

"Presumably in 6 weeks," Millard specifies.

"Exactly," Miss Avocet answers. "And because it's not long until than and because it's something wonderful, people usually celebrate it."

"The birth of the child? Now?" some of the children ask confused.

"Not exactly. It's a party that's supposed to celebrate the expected birth of the child as well as the transformation of the pregnant woman into a mother. The guests that come are bringing lots of gifts for the mother and the child and there are games, cake and other food," Miss Avocet explains.

All the children's faces light up.

"A party," Bronwyn exclaims happily while the twins clap their hands in joy.

"How do you know about that?" Emma asks. "Miss Peregrine doesn't know about such modern traditions."

"Oh well, Emma. I may be old but I'm not that old-fashioned," Miss Avocet laughs. "But yes, you're right, I wouldn't have had that idea although I have to say that it's a good one. Ethan told me about it yesterday. Apparently a few friends of Alma are organizing such a party for her."

"Really?" the children exclaim.

"Wow that's wonderful, I bet it was Catherine's idea," Olive says beaming and Emma nods in agreement.

"When will it be?" Fiona asks curiously.

"Apparently it's supposed to happen on Thursday," Miss Avocet says.

"That's tomorrow!" the children exclaim.

"Yes and that's why we have a lot to do, children."

"What exactly?" Emma wants to know and also the other ones look expectantly at the older ymbryne.

"Ethan asked me if I'd like to be in charge of the cake and the decoration and I thought we could do it together, while Ethan and Miss Peregrine are still away."

"Oh yes, we want to help with the cake," Claire and Bronwyn exclaim immediately.

"I want to help, too," Fiona cuts in.

"Alright, then you can help me in the kitchen. What about the others?"

"We can take care of the decoration," Emma suggests and looks at Olive who agrees.

"Ok, that's a good idea! Maybe you can bring the boys to help you," Miss Avocet suggests.

Horace and Millard sigh annoyed. They hate cooking or baking and drawing or whatever isn't much better.

"I'm sorry boys but we need all the help we can get and you want to have a party don't you?" Miss Avocet teases them.

"Alright, alright, we'll help Emma and Olive," the boys say.

"Good! Maybe you can make some colourful garlands and other stuff that can be hung on the walls and ceiling. Some of you can go and buy some balloons or napkins, all in the same kind of colour. And for the rest, maybe you can look it up on the internet, isn't that what you young people do?" Miss Avocet says.

"Yes, we'll find something good, I have already a few perfect ideas," Emma answers.

"Ok, than let's go and get started," Miss Avocet says and stands up.

The younger children follow Miss Avocet into the kitchen and also the twins have decided to join them. Luckily, Miss Avocet has already bought all the needed ingredients in the morning, so they can start immediately. Miss Avocet opens a big baking book in which she has already chosen a recipe for the dough and the cream. The rest, like the shape of the cake and the decoration, she has come up with on her own.

Together they prepare the dough, a dark one with lots of chocolate. Miss Avocet reads aloud everything they need and Fiona weighs the ingredients and lets the younger ones put them into the big bowl.

"Can we taste it, please," Claire begs.

"Yes you can," Miss Avocet laughs and gives all of them a little spoon as she doesn't want them to stick all their fingers into the dough.

While the cake bakes in the oven they start with a vanilla cream. Again the children want to taste it in the end.

"But not too much," Miss Avocet warns. "We need it for the cake and besides, I wouldn't know how to explain to Miss Peregrine why you're all having a stomach ache in the evening."

Carefully, Miss Avocet takes the cake out of the oven and puts it aside to cool down, while they prepare the decoration with some fondant in different colours. There will be baby shoes, ribbons and bows and on top of the cake a little stork, carrying a baby.

Meanwhile, the others in the living room have already made lots of cute things. Emma and Olive made a huge garland, by cutting out lots of different baby clothes. The boys started with filling the balloons and then wrote little place cards, enjoying the music that Jake started playing with his phone.

Enoch had texted Ethan to ask who will be coming, so that they won't forget anyone.

Emma and Olive decorated the place cards afterwards with little drawings of babies, little animals or toys.

Then they show the boys how to fold the napkins.

"Do we really have to fold so many of them?" Hugh asks annoyed.

"Yes you do," Emma states.

"Unless you don't want to eat with us, than you can leave out 3 of them," Olive adds smirking.

"No way," Millard argues and Hugh sticks his tongue out at the girls, which makes all of them laugh as one of his bees escapes him in the act.

In the kitchen Miss Avocet has just assembled the cake and covered it with fondant so that the children can put all their prepared decoration on top of it.

"But where are we going to store the cake?" Fiona asks. "Miss Peregrine will see it when we put it into the fridge here."

"That's right," Miss Avocet agrees. "Therefore the friend who organized the party will stop by later to pick up all the things we've prepared."

"Ah alright and until then we can place the cake in our fridge," Bronwyn suggests and the others agree.

So after they've stored the cake away, they join the others in the living room. All of them are delighted to see their results.

Miss Avocet thanks them for their good work, before they put everything in a bag for apparently Catherine to pick up later.

"Hopefully, she will come soon, otherwise Miss P. and Ethan will be back," Millard points out.

"Yes that's right. I guess, Ethan won't be able to distract her in town for much longer," Miss Avocet agrees.

And that's right.

After Miss Peregrine and Ethan have finished their lunch, they went to sort out some paperwork that they need before the birth and especially for the home birth.

For Miss Peregrine it has already been a long day and she can't wait to come home again to lie down as her feet as well as her back and pelvis are hurting a lot again. But at least she can sit down where they get all the needed forms or have to sign different things. Ethan tries to do everything as quick as possible so that they can come home early but it still takes some time.

On their way back to the car they also have to stop at a store where they can buy a few more maternity clothes for Alma. They had already bought a few basics some months earlier. It was enough then, as Alma could also wear some of her normal clothes but now she wouldn't fit in any of her clothes and she can't wear the same things all the time. So even if it's not too long until the birth they decided to get her at least some new things.

Miss Peregrine finds another pair of long trousers and two short ones. It may be extremely hot outside but she's still not comfortable with wearing only shorts, especially as she's not happy with her thighs at the moment. Then she decides on a few new shirts and Ethan finds two wonderful dresses, that he wants to buy.

Before paying, they also get some things for after the birth: two nursing bra's, some nursing shirts and tops as well as breastfeeding friendly pyjamas.

When leaving the store, Miss Peregrine has really reached her limits. She can't even walk anymore, so carrying their shopping bags is definitely out of the question, which leaves Ethan loaded with them.

Arriving back home, it's already half past 5. As they enter through the front door, the children look up in shock.

Quickly, Emma hides the bag with the decoration behind her back and smiles at her ymbryne. They have just finished putting all their self-made things inside it and also the cake has been in the fridge for only a few minutes as they all wanted to see it.

"You're back already," Miss Avocet says and greets the couple at the door to distract them and give Emma the chance to get rid of the bag.

"Already?" Miss Peregrine laughs. "My feet and my back are killing me. I feel like I've been out for the whole day."

Ethan looks at the children questioningly, trying to find out if Catherine has already been here. But judging by their shocked expressions, he guesses not. Looking at his watch he remembers that Catherine has only just closed her office and will still have to drive here and that only if she could close on time and didn't have anything else to finish first.

"Then I think it's best if you lie down a bit until dinner is ready," Miss Avocet suggests and Miss Peregrine gladly accepts her idea.

"Thank you, that's wonderful! I'm so sorry to leave you with all the work, though."

"Don't worry, Alma. I'm glad to help out."

Smiling gratefully Miss Peregrine takes off her little jacket and hangs up her handbag before she goes into the bathroom to wash her hands and then lies down in her room.

Ethan immediately asks the children and Miss Avocet about their day and if everything worked out. Proudly the children present everything and Ethan is amazed by what they achieved.

"Wow! That's amazing," he says. "The cake looks like from a confectionery and also all the decoration, it's just really cute. Catherine will love it."

"So it's really Catherine, who planned everything?" Emma asks and Ethan nods.

"Why didn't you tell us about it before?" Olive wants to know.

"I didn't know it much earlier, Olive," Ethan answers. " Catherine told me yesterday in the morning. She had already spoken to all the others and was just asking me if tomorrow was alright. I told her that we don't have any plans tomorrow. Of course it is a stressful week but I thought it won't get much easier the closer we get to Alma's due date. So I only managed to talk to Miss Avocet in the evening to let her know. And then I got really lucky and could close my office even earlier today than expected."

"Yes, everything worked out pretty well," Miss Avocet agrees.

"Yes and also that Miss Peregrine didn't notice anything was luck. We were really afraid that she would return before Catherine comes," Fiona says.

"Yes that was good. It really was a lot today for Alma as we had to walk to so many stores and everything," Ethan says.

"Of course," Miss Avocet agrees. "And did you get everything you needed?"

Ethan nods smiling. Then he calls all the boys and together they get all the stuff from his car.

Interestedly the children look at all the things they got and are already looking forward to see their things that will be delivered to Ethan's house.

For the rest of the afternoon, Miss Peregrine sleeps in her room. Therefore she doesn't even hear that Catherine comes.

Catherine as well is really fascinated by all the things they made and especially by the perfect cake. Happily she takes all the things into her car and says goodbye for the evening.

"I still have a lot to do until tomorrow," she winks at them.

"What are you planning?," the children want to know.

"That's a surprise but I can say that it involves lots of funny games and presents," Catherine says before she disappears into the car.

The rest of the day, the children can play and enjoy themselves. Only the younger ones practise their lines for their big moment on Friday again as they want everything to be perfect.

After waking up Miss Peregrine they all have dinner together. For the children it's hard to keep the big secret from their ymbryne but apart from some giggling and mischievous glances, they don't say anything.

Later on as Miss Avocet has cleaned up with the teenagers and they have all watched another movie together, she tucks in the smaller children.

Miss Peregrine and Ethan are left in the living room.

"We bought some great things today," Ethan says happily and Alma nods.

"Yes, thank you for the wonderful afternoon, it was a good idea," she yawns and has to smile when she thinks of everything again.

Then she leans back into Ethan's arms and he kisses her head before he sips at his wine glass.

"I'm really looking forward to when we can dress the child in all the little clothes," Ethan says and thinks of what they bought today.

"Me too," Alma says. "I can't wait to finally have the child with us and I just can't believe that there are still 6 weeks left. I already feel like it could happen any time now and I can't imagine getting even bigger than I am now."

"I'm sorry, Alma but I think that's something we won't be able to change. But we can just be happy that the child is healthy and hopefully won't be born too early," Ethan reasons.

"You're right," Alma sighs and snuggles into Ethan's arms. She closes her eyes and takes a deep calm breath, still smiling. For a short while none of them says a word.

Ethan let's his hand caress Alma's baby bump absentmindedly as his thoughts wander off.

"I've talked to Esmeralda," he begins then.

" We both noticed you getting serious and thoughtful from time to time, when you seem to be far away in your thoughts and your expression gets sad. Be honest, Alma: It's too much for you at the moment, right?" Ethan asks suddenly. Alma shifts uncomfortably in his arms before she answers.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to give you such an impression. I'm happy, really! It's just..." She averts her gaze and places her hand on Ethan's.

"Sometimes I'm scared and you're right. It's just a lot at the moment and I can't imagine how we should get through the next two weeks, that worries me sometimes."

"Oh, I'm sorry! And sometimes I'm scared, too," Ethan says silently and presses Alma's head against his chest. "I don't like that it's so stressful either. I should have finished the renovations earlier and could have planned everything better and shouldn't do the education thing in the last weeks before the birth to be there for you. But I promise you that we'll find a way. Somehow it will work and I will do anything to take the load off you, like Miss Avocet is now. We will also manage when she's gone, Alma."

Miss Peregrine nods as she already feels reassured. Just Ethan comforting and embracing her makes her feel like nothing serious can happen to them.


	60. Chapter 27 Part III

**Chapter 27**

 **Part III**

The next morning, the children get ready for school very quickly. They all want their last real school day to be over as soon as possible. and for none of them it's really long as they only have a few last subjects.

As soon as the bell rings they all hurry home, so excited about what's going to happen in the afternoon.

While Ethan has gone to work - only half-day today as well - Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet had a relaxed morning. After the breakfast they went for a short walk around the block. Miss Peregrine still likes to exercise a bit as she doesn't find the time to go to the yoga classes or swimming anymore.

Then Miss Avocet sent Alma to lie down on the couch and read something or sleep while she did some housework before starting with the cooking.

During lunch, Miss Peregrine can feel the excitement of her children but she puts it down to the upcoming theatre play and the beginning of the holidays. As she has at least helped Miss Avocet with cleaning up everything, she leaves for her room for a short nap.

Miss Avocet encourages her to do so and all the children try to hide their relief, that she will be away and can't notice their preparations.

"Take as much time as you need, Alma," Miss Avocet says. "I'll come and get you early enough so don't worry about sleeping to long and setting the alarm clock."

Miss Peregrine smiles and nods gratefully before she's gone.

"Ok, let's do it!" Miss Avocet whispers to the children and they all erupt with joy and excitement, while trying to be as quiet as possible.

Together they prepare the living room by getting enough chairs and tables. Bronwyn gets a few of their desks and they arrange some of them as a little buffet table in front of the big window to the garden and use some as an extension of their big dining table, so that everyone fits at it.

Emma and Olive cover all the tables with beautiful white tablecloths and the boys start setting the table, being as careful as possible with the porcelain, so that Miss Peregrine doesn't wake up.

At around 2 o'clock Ethan and soon also Catherine arrive. Ethan eats something small before he joins Alma in her bedroom. He feels like lying in bed with her and they all agreed that it's best if someone is with her to distract her as well as keeping her from going into the living room and Ethan is just the least suspicious choice.

Catherine gets a few children to unload her car. They put the big cake in the middle of the buffet table and start with decorating the room with their garlands and balloons. Catherine and Miss Avocet get a few other things that Catherine has cooked out of the car and place them on the table around the cake. While they are getting some cutlery for every plate so the guests can help themselves, Catherine explains that all the other guests will bring something small to eat, so that they will have the cake for the afternoon and a buffet as dinner.

At approximately 3 o'clock they are ready with everything which is good as the guests could arrive at any time now.

The children are sitting on the couches, waiting and trying to be as quiet as possible. Miss Peregrine is not supposed to see any of this before all the guests are there. Catherine and Miss Avocet are preparing the last things, like getting all the beverages out of the fridge and rearranging the plates on the buffet table for the hundredth time so that there's enough room for the rest and everything's looking perfect.

Meanwhile Miss Peregrine has woken up for the second time. As Ethan entered her room she briefly opened her eyes but as he took off his trousers to lie down next to her she closed them again and fell back asleep shortly afterwards.

This time she feels more awake and turns onto her other side to look at Ethan. Also he has been sleeping a bit, quite exhausted from the week as well.

"Maybe it's time for us to join the others again. I think we've been away for quite some time now," Alma suggests and smiles at Ethan, who's eyes still look quite sleepy.

"Let's stay a little while longer, I'm sure the others are fine," Ethan laughs and lovingly taps Alma's nose with his finger.

"Okay," Alma agrees and kisses Ethan's nose in return.

"Do we have any plans for this afternoon and evening?" she asks then. "You're home early today."

"Not that I'm aware of," Ethan lies, trying hard not to grin. "Is there anything you would like to do?"

"Not particularly," Miss Peregrine answers. "But I'm not sure what the children would like to do. Maybe we can go into the garden as soon as it is slightly colder outside."

"That sounds good," Ethan says and closes his eyes again. He can hear some of the children talking next door but he has got no idea how many guests have arrived until now. So far he has tried to engage Alma in a conversation, so that the other's voices or the doorbell can't be heard that clearly but now he's running out of ideas about what to say, that will still sound plausible at this moment.

Inconspicuously he takes a look at Alma's watch. It's already 5 minutes to half past 4, the time they arranged for him to bring Alma outside but he's still not sure if all the guests have arrived yet.

"I will be back in a tick, Alma. I'm just going to the bathroom," he excuses himself.

"Oh, yes, I think I'm coming with you," Miss Peregrine says as she also needs to use the toilet.

"I've got a better idea," Ethan says while kissing her as a distraction before he leaves the bed and grabs his pair of jeans.

"I'm going to be quick and you can put on the new dress in the meantime. I'd really like to see you wear it today."

Miss Peregrine frowns at him, surprised by this sudden idea and not getting the point of it.

"If you wish," she laughs then and gets up as well while Ethan already leaves the room.

As Ethan enters the living room all the people in the room look expectantly at him.

"Oh, you're already so many," he says surprised. He really hasn't heard them all from Alma's room.

"Is anyone still missing?"

Catherine shakes her head.

"Ok, then I'll get her," Ethan says.

Miss Peregrine has already put on the new dress and Ethan is fascinated by how good she looks in it. Together they walk out of the room and through the corridor.

"Surprise!"

All the guests shout and smile at Alma, who is so surprised that she is speechless.

Catherine and Ethan quickly explain to her what a baby shower is and that her friends have organized this party for her.

Together they all spend a wonderful afternoon. First they all eat the fantastic cake and Miss Peregrine is amazed by what her children and Miss Avocet have done without her noticing.

Then the women start playing funny games and also some of the girls join them. The rest of the children play together in the house as well as the garden with some of their friends.

Catherine has invited all women she knows that Alma is friends with. Apart from herself there are the other women they went out with a few times and a few mothers that Alma knows from the children, like Emilia's mother or mothers of Fiona's friends or of boys from the soccer teams. They all brought the kids with them, so there are a lot of children running around.

Furthermore Catherine has invited Sandra as she knows that since their first meeting, Alma and her have spend a lot of time together.

Sandra and the kids have visited them a few times. First because Sandra and Alma got on really well and second because both families enjoy each other's company as there's just less stress when they don't have to keep their secrets from each other.

Sandra used the opportunity to learn more about the peculiar world and Alma even tried to find some time to do some small lessons with Ayla, to learn how to control and live with her peculiarity better.

And now at the party, Alma really feels this connection to Sandra. Even if she has been knowing the other women for much longer, the relationship between her and Sandra is somehow deeper and more intimate in a way. With her, she doesn't have to explain herself and Sandra doesn't ask questions when Alma doesn't know things about the present or technical stuff, which all the other mothers usually know.

Ethan and Miss Avocet spend the afternoon with cleaning up things, getting new beverages or just helping all the guests with whatever they need.

Later on as most of the children have returned to their parents as they are hungry again, they all start eating from the dinner buffet, while presenting their presents to Alma.

She can't believe that her friends have organized this for her and that all the guests are also bringing gifts for her.

Happily she unwraps every single package and marvels at all their cute ideas. Of course there are lots of baby clothes, luckily in different sizes from newborn to 10 months. Most of them are unisex clothes but there are also some beautiful dresses and other girls clothes.

Alma has to smile. By now they have so many girls things that she's really hoping to have a baby girl. It would just be so sad to give all the cute things away.

 _But maybe the other women know something that she doesn't which would be very uncommon,_ she thinks, half laughing about herself.

Among the clothes are also little hats, headbands, socks, shoes or gloves. They are so tiny that Miss Peregrine is remembered how small a newborn really is. She has never held one before because Claire had already been 2 months old as Alma found her.

But before she can worry about it, the next guests want her to open their presents. There are also lots of things for herself like special lotions and other wellness items she can use before and after the birth.

Alma is really touched that all these people came to celebrate with her and thanks them for their amazing presents. Especially Catherine who got her a really good baby carrier that can be used for babies and also be converted into one that's usable for toddlers later on.

The guests stay nearly the whole evening and together they are having a fabulous time. Also Alma who is now very glad that she took a short nap earlier enjoys every minute of it. A couple of times Ethan or Catherine come to her to ask if it's still alright or if she rather needs some rest but Alma declines their offer to end the party. It's just too much fun and she's just sitting most of the time anyway.

The buffet is nearly empty as the last guests have left. Because a lot of them have children of their own and it's a school night, it's just half past 7.

Together all the children, Ethan and Miss Avocet tidy up the room and put all the leftovers into the fridge, before the children get ready for bed.

Miss Peregrine sits on the couch and folds all the little baby clothes to put them aside with the rest of her presents.

With a glass of water for Alma, Miss Avocet sits down next to her. She plans to leave soon, so that she will arrive in her loop before everyone is asleep.

"Did you enjoy your day?" she asks and Alma smiles.

"I did. It was fantastic. Thank you for your help, it really means a lot to me that you came to help me and with this party and the preparations it was just so much more to do," Miss Peregrine says, slightly feeling guilty.

Miss Avocet just smiles at her. She has told her multiple times before that it was no problem for her so there's no need to repeat it.

"You really got some cute presents," she says instead.

Miss Peregrine nods. Then she leans back against the sofa and takes a sip of her drink.

From the side, Miss Avocet can see her expression change again.

"Don't you want to tell me what's bothering you at last?" the older ymbryne asks.

"I've been watching you for the last days and you know that you can't fool me, you never could."

Alma has to smile, thinking about all the times when she was young and tried to hide something from Miss Avocet.

"It's nothing major," she sighs. "I'm just worrying about the upcoming time. The holidays may start now, but there's still a lot to do with the renovation, packing up all our things and moving to Ethan. And on top of that I completely forgot that Ethan won't be available for the next two weeks as he will be busy at work and has to attend different classes in the evening to get some kind of certificate. And to be honest I've got no idea how to handle everything alone even with the help of the children. I'm not very productive at the moment and it will only get worse in the next weeks."

Miss Avocet has listened intently and as Alma looked down at her lap she placed her hand on Alma's.

"Oh, Alma, you can be so stubborn sometimes," she laughs. Confused, Miss Peregrine looks up. The last thing she has expected was Miss Avocet laughing about it.

"But that's no problem dear. And if you had talked to me earlier, you would have known that there was no need to worry."

Miss Peregrine still doesn't understand her completely.

"Alma, we ymbrynes are a community and we help each other. And instead of asking one of us you're worrying yourself sick." Miss Avocet is shaking her head while talking. Then she takes Alma's hand in hers, stroking her palm.

"Of course, I will help you. How many times have you helped me out before, so don't you dare argue with me that I've already done enough."

Miss Peregrine looks up at Miss Avocet to find her honest blue eyes, which are only reinforcing her statement. Alma can't help but smile a little bit. Miss Avocet has already taken the load from the last few days off her.

"Thank you," she says. "But how, you can't stay here forever?"

Now it's Miss Avocet who sighs.

"Yes, you might be right, Alma. It won't be easy but nonetheless we will do it together. Don't you ever think that you have to go through something alone," Miss Avocet repeats and Alma nods, nearly shyly, biting her lower lip.

"I won't be able to stay outside a loop and away from my children for so long in a row, that's true. I would age and also Lisa is still not able to do everything on her own and I have to finish her training as well as I have to do the classes with the children. But let's think what we can do," Miss Avocet suggests.

Thoughtfully Miss Peregrine looks at her. She has got no idea what to do about it.

"Your children's holidays start next week, right? So maybe you can somehow manage alone until the weekend and finish with packing your things and the renovation. But then you could come and stay with us for as long as Ethan's training is going on. What do you say?"

Alma is surprised by this idea. She would have never thought of that but it's not a very bad one.

"I don't know," she says, though. "I mean, it would really help with a lot but I'm not sure if we're ready with everything here and that we can leave for longer. Then I will have to talk to Ethan, asking if it's alright that he's staying here alone. And there are also so many other things to consider."

Miss Avocet nods understandingly.

"That's true. But we should consider that possibility. Then you have more time to get some rest and when you return, Ethan will be there to help you more and I can come over for a few days again, before as well as after the birth."

"That sounds tempting," Alma laughs. "I'll have to consider the children, though. Maybe they've made plans for their first days of their holidays, like meeting friends and other things. I just can't make them leave their home for 2 weeks."

"Yes, you can, Alma!" Miss Avocet argues. "You're just too good and I understand that. But that shouldn't be your priority. You need the help and you alone can decide what's best, together with Ethan of course."

Alma takes a deep breath but has to agree eventually. Then she keeps thinking about Miss Avocet's suggestion.

"We may need the weekend to pack all our things here and help Ethan," Alma says.

"Helping me with what?" Ethan wants to know as he joins the two women in the living room.

"With the renovation," Alma explains, leaning into Ethan's arms as he sat down next to her.

"We were just talking about the weekend as well as the time afterwards," Miss Avocet begins and then informs Ethan about her idea.

"But that's a great idea!" Ethan exclaims happily. "And it solves all you're problems, doesn't it Alma?"

Hesitantly, Alma nods before she lets Ethan know about her worries.

"I don't know if the children would like that, then we won't be here to help you and we would be apart for 2 whole weeks and you can't visit us. I don't want to exclude you," Alma says sadly.

Miss Avocet gives her an insistent glance. "You know that it doesn't have to be like that," she says quietly.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asks confused.

"Nothing," Alma brushes him off and glares at Miss Avocet before she continues.

"We're a family now and it just doesn't feel right."

"I understand it, but don't worry," Ethan assures her. "I will be fine on my own and this kind of holiday will surely be good for you."

"Yes, maybe," Alma shrugs. "But what if something happens? I mean what is if the child should decide to come earlier than planned, what happens when I'm in the loop so far away from here?" Alma asks timidly.

"I understand your worries," Ethan answers. "But I think everything will be fine. You and the child are healthy and I don't think that the child will be born within the next two weeks. But to be sure, we can still talk to Catherine about it."

While Ethan talks, Alma's thoughts have gone head over heels and she barely listened.

"Wait...oh my god...can I even stay in a loop?" she asks and turns towards her ymbryne. "I mean what happens to the child when none of us ages forward. That can't be healthy." Shocked, she looks back at Ethan.

Also Miss Avocet and Ethan are speechless for a moment.

"I haven't thought of that," Miss Avocet admits while Ethan still thinks about it.

"You don't age forward while you're inside the loop, right?" he asks, as always thinking like a scientist. Both women nod thoughtfully.

"And that state isn't unhealthy for you, so a growing stop won't be bad for the child either, I guess. Now it's just interesting what happens when you leave the loop again. What happens normally when you go back into the present?"

"Then we'll catch up on it and age all at once," Alma explains.

"Hmm..."Ethan says. "Then it would mean that the child doesn't grow until you leave the loop and then it will grow all of a sudden."

"That's right," Miss Avocet confirms.

"Ok, that wouldn't be good, you're right, Alma," Ethan says still rethinking everything.

"And what if you leave the loop one or two times a day, then the child will grow more regularly, in little steps, could that work?" Miss Avocet asks.

"That might be possible," Ethan answers. "I really think that could work. I mean if you don't get hurt when catching up on your aging process after a few days in a loop, the child won't either. And we're talking about hours here, Alma."

"I'm not sure," Miss Peregrine says hesitantly. "I don't want to harm the child."

"Neither do we," Ethan agrees and takes her hand in his.

"But to be honest, if you leave the loop three times a day, it can't be worse than when you stay here and wear yourself out."

Alma considers Ethan's opinion.

"Maybe you're right," she sighs. "Why does everything have to be so difficult?"

"That's life my dear," Miss Avocet says and gives the couple a sad smile.

Miss Peregrine takes a deep breath and leans further into Ethan's arms before she answers.

"Ok, I'll think about it," she says finally.

Happy, Ethan kisses her forehead. "Good," he says.

"Alright, then I'll hear from you soon," Miss Avocet says before she stands up and the couple nods.

Alma and Ethan accompany Miss Avocet to the door.

"Are you sure that you want to fly all the way. Ethan can also drive you to the next train station," Alma offers but Miss Avocet declines.

"It's alright. I like the air of a summer evening, it's not so hot anymore but still nice and warm. I will enjoy my flight and it's not much more time-consuming than taking the train. Then I'll be home before the sun sets."

The couple accepts Miss Avocet's wish and says goodbye to her.

"Thank you so much again," Miss Peregrine repeats. "I wouldn't have known what to do without you and also without your promise to help us in the future as well."

Also Ethan thanks her and Miss Avocet smiles at them, while taking both their hands as a silent gesture. Then she takes a step back and before Ethan and Alma can blink, a little avocet flaps it's wings in front of their eyes and then takes off into the evening sky.

Miss Peregrine and Ethan stay a little while longer and gaze after her while enjoying the clear and soft air before they go to bed themselves.

The next morning all of them have to get up early one last time.

The younger children are happy to go to school as there won't be any classes today. Together with their teachers they will prepare the summer party for the afternoon.

Only the teenagers will have one last real school day and they even have one last big test in the morning, for which they had to learn a lot during the last days. Therefore they are still a bit nervous and not so carefree as the others.

Also Ethan has to go to work again and hurry so that he will be free for the afternoon.

But luckily everything works out once more and he can pick up Alma at half past 2 to take her to the city theatre.

In front of the building all schools of the city have built up different booths, where the children present some art work they did during the year as well as sell food and drinks for all the guests.

It's a beautiful atmosphere with so many children and parents and also some school orchestras and bands play a few songs.

Everywhere are parents, that have come to see their children in the play or to just be part of this great event. Among them, Alma and Ethan even meet Sandra with her family. They haven't seen her at a school event before because her children go to other schools. But exactly this is the reason why Alma loves this summer party and the fact that all schools worked together to organize something like that: You always meet new families.

While walking around in the crowd, Alma even sees other women she knows and has a nice talk with them before Ethan or one of her children urges her forward.

In the course of time, they find all the other children, that are either helping somewhere or running around, playing with their friends. And also the teenagers come over from their school after they have finished their last classes.

Together they walk around the area and take a look at everything. Some of the children are hungry as they haven't had something for lunch, so Ethan buys them some sausages with fries and they sit down together.

Afterwards the younger children have to leave and join their teams to get ready for their big performance.

The rest stays outside a bit longer but soon they all meet to go inside and get some good seats. Entering the big hall, Alma sees Sandra and her husband sitting in one of the front rows so they join them.

Alma sits down next to Sandra and Ethan, the four teenagers as well as Horace and Millard take their seats next to her.

For a short while they keep talking to each other while more and more parents get inside until there's no free chair left. Like at every good school event even more guests come and occupy all the free places in the corners, standing behind the rows of chairs or sitting on the windowsills or stairs.

"We were lucky that you could come home so early," Miss Peregrine says to Ethan. "I wouldn't be able to stand all this time and it would also be sad not to see the children properly when sitting in the last rows."

"I know," Ethan answers. "I did my best to finish as early as possible."

Miss Peregrine smiles at him before she leans forward and turns to her right to talk to the others.

"Can you please make some photos of the children?" she asks her teenage boys who nod eagerly.

"Of course, Miss Peregrine," Jake assures her.

Miss Peregrine is happy to see her teenagers so joyful again. They really have been through a hard time the last few weeks. Maybe it will be good to go to Miss Avocet after all. They all deserve a little holiday and when they stay here, all the children will have to help instead of just enjoying their holidays.

Meanwhile Ethan has talked to Sandra, asking her what she will do with the kids during the holidays but so far she hasn't made any plans.

As the lights fade out they all lean back in their chairs and watch as the curtains open to reveal the beautifully crafted stage scenery.

It's amazing when knowing that everything was made by the children and also now the children do everything on their own: the light, change of the scenery as well as noises.

The play is wonderful. All the guests have lots of fun as it's thrilling, very funny and also scary or serious sometimes. All the children do a great job, nearly like real actors. And it makes Miss Peregrine extra proud to see that all her children were chosen to play lead roles. Of course she would have been as happy if they didn't play at all and worked on something else like the scenery but it's still nice to see that her children are so good at acting. And she's especially relieved that also the twins are always part of everything no matter what they can or can't do.

Also the teenagers and Ethan are amazed by their performances as they have never seen them acting before and especially Hugh is brilliant.

He plays a dragon and you could say that it's the biggest role. In the beginning he's quite evil and wants to attack a little village in the kingdom of a great king and his family. Bronwyn plays the queen and Claire the gorgeous princess.

While the king doesn't care about the villagers they try to convince him otherwise and aren't afraid of the dragon at all. As also the good fairy of their house, played by Fiona, tells him that terrible things will happen if he ignores the dragon's threat he changes his mind.

Therefore the king sends one of his best knights, Sandra's son, on his horse, which is played by the twins, to kill the dragon. Unfortunately he's quite clumsy and it takes him a lot of time to reach the village as he's currently stopped by animals of the forest who want to know something.

Meanwhile in the village, a mother and her little daughter, also played by Sandra's children, are the only ones of the many villagers who are brave enough to face the dragon.

After the rest of them have fled they walk on the open street and start talking to him as he's just burning a few houses and eating their animals.

In the end, the little girl can convince the dragon to be friendly from now on as she helps him to get rid of his hiccup.

He has never been into scaring people anyway but thought he had to as a dragon. But now he could be convinced to be a nice dragon who helps the villagers with whatever they need and gets something to eat from them in return.

Luckily this happens before the knight arrives to kill the now friendly dragon, so the villagers return to organize a big party with the king's family and they all live happily ever after.

As the curtains close again for the third time and all the children have bowed in front of the cheering audience, the crowd start slowly streaming out of the theatre. Miss Peregrine, Ethan and the children stay at their seats and wait for the rest of them to come down from the stage.

They don't have to wait long and the younger ones come running towards them, relieved, happy and with the costumes under their arms.

"Did you like it?" they ask smiling.

"Of course!" Ethan answers and lifts Claire up into his arms to tickle her.

"It was wonderful!" Miss Peregrine agrees and blinks a few times to get rid of the tears that are forming in her eyes again. She pets the head of her children and tells them how proud she is before they also start going towards the exit.

Also Sandra and her family are leaving.

At the door they say their goodbyes.

"Are we seeing each other in the holidays?" Sandra asks Alma as she knows her children will be begging her to go over and play with Alma's children.

"Probably," Alma answers. "But I can't say when at the moment. We are still busy with the renovation and everything."

"Of course, let's see what happens. But keep in mind that I will be there if you need something, alright?" Sandra reminds Alma who nods gratefully. Sandra has already told her multiple times that she can look after the children or even take them to her place, either before, during or after the birth.

They wish each other a nice evening before both families leave into different directions at the exit.

Ethan lays his arm around Alma's shoulders as they stroll towards their car, the children running around them.

"What do you think, shall we stop at a restaurant and eat something, as a treat?" he suggests.

Miss Peregrine hesitates before she answers.

"I don't know, I'd rather go home now and lie down. My back is killing me and it was a long day. What about getting takeaways somewhere?"

"Of course," Ethan answers. "That's why I asked you first. Takeaways it is then." Ethan kisses Alma on the cheek before they reach the car.

In the car Ethan informs the children about their plan and they are all happy to get some food from a restaurant. They used to never go to a restaurant with Miss Peregrine. Now with Ethan it happens from time to time but still so rarely that they are really happy now.

As they chose the restaurant they go to most of the time, all the children already know what they want to eat and Miss Peregrine can call and order their food while they drive. Then they only have to wait 10 minutes at the restaurant before they can go home. Ethan goes inside to buy the food, accompanied by Claire and the twins who begged him to go as well.

In the car the other children talk to Miss Peregrine. Hugh, Bronwyn and Fiona retell their experiences from taking part in the play and let the others know what went wrong, little things that the audience couldn't notice.

Then Miss Peregrine wants to know how the tests of her older children went.

"It was alright," Enoch answers and also Jake agrees. "I think it went pretty good actually," Olive says but Emma isn't really satisfied. It's nothing new for her though, Emma has always been a perfect student and very strict with herself.

As Ethan and the younger ones return and the whole car starts smelling of their food, the children can't wait to get home and start eating. Excitedly they don't stop talking on their way and Ethan struggles to keep them from peeking into the food bags.

Also the teenagers are so happy again. It seems as if a heavy load has been taken off their minds since the holidays have really started. The last weeks have been hard for them as well. While helping at home, driving their siblings to multiple events and preparing the baby shower with Miss Avocet they had to learn for their last tests and hand in their term papers as well. They haven't had one free minute to take a breath.

As Ethan pulls into their driveway the children's excitement has reached its climax. Excitedly they jump out of the car and help Ethan with carrying the bags while Miss Peregrine follows them towards the front door. The teenagers, a few meters in front of them, are deep in a conversation about everything that's going on in the holidays among their friends as they are just turning the last corner before the front door.

"Mum? Dad?" Jake asks all of a sudden. "Damn it!"


	61. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

"I completely forgot about you during the last week," Jake stammers as his parents stand up from the porch and embrace him in a tight hug.

The rest of the children as well as Miss Peregrine and Ethan are speechless. Alma even lets go of the twins' hands that she has been holding.

After what seems like eternity, Jake's parents release him so he can breath and talk again.

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to pick you up from the airport but with everything that was going on here it just slipped my mind," Jake tries to explain but his parents aren't angry at all.

"Don't worry, dear," his mother says. "We just took a taxi, that was no problem at all."

Then his parents walk past him to greet the others, first of all Miss Peregrine.

"Wow, Alma, you look great!" Mrs. Portman says before hugging her.

"Thank you, you too," she answers. "I didn't know you were coming home today. This is no proper welcome for you, I'm really sorry."

"Really, it's fine," also Jake's father assures her.

"I told Jake two weeks ago that we would arrive today, he wanted to tell you, but apparently something else stopped him." Jake's mother says, looking at Jake, who is blushing as everyone looks at him. This is really bad, how could he have forgotten his own parents' return?! But it was just a lot going on here and the moment he hung up the phone as his mother told him the date and time, he got distracted by one of the children.

"Although, that's really no problem, Alma," Maryann continues. "We're here now and that just makes us happy."

"Ok, then let's get all inside," Miss Peregrine says, now half recovered from the surprise.

"We just wanted to eat something all together as we came from the school theatre play. I'm sure we have bought enough for all of us."

Jake's parents nod understandingly, just remembering all too well their visits at the school's summer party as Jake was younger. Then their glances dart behind Miss Peregrine where Ethan stands, carrying the bags of food.

"Oh sorry, where are my manners? This is Ethan," Miss Peregrine introduces him and Ethan shakes their hands.

"I thought as much, nice to finally meet you," Jake's mother says.

"Yes Jake told us a lot about you," Mr. Portman adds smiling.

"I hope only good things," Ethan retorts jokingly before they all go inside.

After the initial shock, all the children are back into their joyful and excited mood. Miss Peregrine sends them all to wash their hands while the teenagers set the table and the adults unpack the food.

Jake and his parents, who take in the new atmosphere of their own house, already sit at the table and talk. They are really happy to see each other again, after one year.

Jake's parents can't stop looking at their boy who seems to have grown so much more mature, once again without them in his life. But they are not sad, just grateful that Jake has found a second family and that he became such a great young man.

Also Jake notices a change when looking at his parents. Apart from their tanned skin, they look a lot happier together as a couple again. The time away, on their own must have been really good for them.

Together they all share their food and talk a lot. The children ask lots of questions about their big trip and all the foreign countries they visited while Jake's parents want to know everything that has been going on here.

They are amazed how much the younger children have grown since the last time they saw them and even Miss Peregrine has changed a lot, not just because of the pregnancy. She seems more at ease in this new world now and so much happier and sociable in a way.

After the dinner Emma and Olive clean up everything while Ethan and the boys clear the former bedroom of Jake's parents as they have used it as a storeroom for the last months.

Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. Portman are sitting on the couches with Miss Peregrine who felt so tired that she had to lie down. Nonetheless she didn't want to go to bed with Jake's parents just having been returned. Maryann can imagine how Alma must feel but she admires her to still care for all the children while being that pregnant.

After the children have gotten ready for bed they are allowed to join the adults and teenagers in the living room. They are just too excited to go to bed and don't want to miss a thing that Jake's parents report.

Miss Peregrine is just explaining to Jake's parents that she had planned to leave the house as soon as they have returned but now as it came as a surprise, Ethan's house is not completely ready.

"How much longer does it take until we can move in?" Alma asks Ethan, who has just gotten some drinks for them all and sits down in between her and Jake's father, whom he hands a beer.

"I'm not sure but I still have to finish some of the floors in the children's rooms," Ethan explains. "I might be able to finish it at the weekend, then they will have to dry out for a few days afterwards, though. A few other little things are yet to be completed as well and I try to finish them in the next weeks but it still leaves one to two weeks until all of you can move in."

"I see," Miss Peregrine answers a little bit disappointed. She desperately wants Jake's parents to have their home to themselves after their long time away.

"Maybe you should take up Miss Avocet's offer after all," Ethan says quietly to Alma while the children keep talking to Jake's parents.

"Maybe you're right," Miss Peregrine sighs. "It will give Maryann and Franklin their well deserved peace at home and the children and I can spend some relaxed holidays."

"Exactly, it's just the perfect solution for everything . On the weekend I'll take the boys to help me with the floors and maybe you could pack up everything here. Then we can bring the things you don't need at Miss Avocet's to my house before I'll drive you to the next loop entrance. During the two weeks I try to finish everything and when you come back you can directly come to our place."

"It sounds so easy when you say it," Alma laughs.

"It is," Ethan insists. "And you don't have to do anything."

"But I can't leave all the work to you, not when you're already so busy with your work and the training."

"I'll manage, Alma. I'm still young," Ethan laughs.

"I know. But I don't want to leave you here for so long and I don't want to be without you either," Miss Peregrine confesses while the children retell the story of how they all met Ethan to Jake's parents.

Ethan takes Alma in his arms. " Neither do I. But you'll have some great days and can relax, that's going to be fun, believe me."

Miss Peregrine nods sadly. Just thinking about leaving Ethan for so long makes her feel alone. It's crazy, the children have always been enough for her and also being on her own never bothered her. How could she have become so dependent on Ethan in such a short time.

Ethan seems to be able to read her thoughts though.

"Don't worry, Alma. It's just the pregnancy that makes you feel this way," he assures her and hugs her tighter. "It's a normal process in the weeks before the birth, you feel vulnerable and dependant on the people around you, especially your partner. It will never be just you again, as there is this little human being that will need you, in the beginning even to survive and later on in an emotional way. You feel the need to do everything to protect it which involves getting all the help you can get. That's a good sign and that dependency on your partner just means that it's an intimate relationship we're having, which I'm quite happy about. And believe me, Alma, you're definitely not half as clingy as other women are supposed to get during the pregnancy," Ethan laughs.

"That's good to hear," Miss Peregrine says smiling. "I hope it'll stay that way."

"And even if it doesn't, I'll still love you very much," Ethan assures her, which makes Alma laugh even more.

"Thank you, I love you too."

"Wow that's such a romantic story," Maryann says to the children as they have finished.

"And you played a major role in bringing them together, Claire," she adds to the little girl who nods proudly.

"Ok, children. As much as I love hearing all your stories and telling you ours, I'm feeling really tired."

"Oh, of course," Emma says. "You had a long journey, we're sorry to keep you awake for so long."

"That's fine, Emma," Jake's father says and gives her a warm smile. "But Maryann is right, I think it's time to go to bed now."

Reluctantly the other children nod while Miss Peregrine is happy that she is not the one to break up this gathering.

"But tomorrow, we will keep talking and Franklin and I have also taken so many photos to show you and we even brought a present for each of you," Jake's mother says while winking at the children.

"That was something you shouldn't have said," Miss Peregrine laughs as all the children started cheering again.

"I know," Maryann laughs. "But we're going to bed now, so there's no need for them to stay up longer, no matter how excited they are."

And she stays right. The children accept their wish and go to bed but are still excited about the next morning.

After Ethan has also made the beds for their newcomers, the adults go to sleep as well.

Jake's parents feel so tired from their flight and because of the jetlag. But nonetheless they are so happy to be home again. It was a great time and apart from just experiencing so many adventures it also helped their relationship and made them find their love again.

The next day, the children get up very early, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Portman, still used to another time zone.

After the breakfast they get their suitcases and present all their souvenirs before connecting their camera to the TV and showing all their pictures.

They're just amazing! They've seen nearly the whole world, took photos of elephants, dream beaches, waterfalls, jungles, and all the big sights of every country they visited.

Of course the children are infected by the holiday fever and want to travel to all these countries themselves. Ethan and Miss Peregrine are busy with calming them down .

"But who knows, maybe you will be able to see all these places one day. It has definitely gotten easier as we now have the Panloopticon. At least one good thing, my brothers achieved," Miss Peregrine says thoughtfully but is immediately distracted by her children planning trips to the most foreign loops.

"Maybe we can even visit a few places while we stay at Miss Avocet's next week," Millard suggests and all the children join in, all talking at the same time until Miss Peregrine stops them.

"Let's see about that when we're there," she says. "I don't think that it's possible on such short notice and I'm sure that it's already enough extra work when we're all staying there, even without any special wishes."

Most of the children have to agree.

"Speaking of which," Ethan cuts in. "You only have one and a half days left to pack up all your things for Miss Avocet and for our new house."

"That's right!" Miss Peregrine says. "I think you better start now and Ethan wanted to take a few of you to the house, right?"

Ethan nods.

Then he takes Enoch, Millard, Horace and Hugh with him and they drive to his house to work on the floors while Alma and the younger children and girls clear the house of nearly everything that belongs to them before packing their suitcases for the next two weeks.

Jake was allowed to stay at home to catch up on some time with his parents. They go for a little walk together to be on their own and get some fresh air - even if it's really hot outside. But compared to Africa, Jake's parents don't perceive it as uncomfortable.

The use the time to talk to Jake about his plans for the next time, so he tells them that Miss Peregrine, Emma and him have decided that he'll live at both places. His parents are really happy about the idea as they have feared that Jake would have wanted to stay with the other children. They wouldn't have been angry at him and could have understood him but at the same time they would have been really sad.

And also about Jake's wish that Emma shall stay with him in both houses is no problem for his parents. They are glad that Jake is still happy with her and have really grown to love Emma as well.

As they return, Jake and his father start disassembling a few pieces of furniture that they don't need any more. The rest, Ethan will do in the next weeks and again Jake's father has offered to help him.

Jake's mother supports Alma with the children and gathering all their things before she cooks something for lunch. Of course, Miss Peregrine doesn't let her without putting up a fight but Maryann can convince her that she is better at helping the children and should also accept her help and get a bit of rest.

In the evening as also the boys have returned from a long but successful day at Ethan's house they eat dinner together. The house looks very chaotic with boxes and suitcases everywhere but Miss Peregrine is satisfied with the result, so that they don't have a lot more to do on Sunday.

Again they send the children to bed fairly early as they are all so tired. Just the teenagers stay with the adults in the living room.

They are discussing the idea of Jake staying at home with his parents. He himself is in two minds about it. On the one hand he really wants to stay with Emma and the rest of them and he wants to visit Miss Avocet in her loop. But he also wants to be with his parents after their long separation. And even before their world trip they barely had time together, with their new living arrangements and after the realisation that Jake has been in his right mind the whole time.

Thinking about it now, Jake's parents have to realise that they never apologized for what they did to their son and also Jake never got to tell them that he's not angry with them.

In the end they get to the conclusion that it would be best to give Jake and his parents some time on their own.

And also Emma has to admit that it's best if she doesn't stay as well even if she and Jake would have loved that. But she's needed at Miss Avocet's and there will be enough time for her and Jake afterwards.

Also Miss Peregrine has to make a last decision before her holidays. After they've decided about Jake staying at home the phone rings and it's Sandra who wanted to ask if Alma might find just a few minutes to train Ayla again.

Sandra feels very sorry for bothering her but Ayla had another incident in public and needs the training. Besides she knows that it will also get harder for Alma the longer they wait and after the birth of the child she won't have any free minute left.

Miss Peregrine would have loved to help them but she has to tell Sandra about their plan for the next two weeks. Sandra understands it though and wishes Alma a great time, saying that she doesn't need to worry and they will manage somehow.

Just before she wants to hang up though, Ethan approaches her to whisper something in her ear. Happy Alma informs Sandra about his idea of taking Ayla with them, which Sandra gladly accepts.

Of course it might cause jealousy among the siblings, when Ayla is allowed to go on a holiday with the others but she will think of something fun for them as well. Also bringing Ayla to going on her own won't be easy but it will be good for her to see her other world and to learn about all the things that exist just there.

After arranging for Sandra to bring Ayla over around lunchtime tomorrow, Miss Peregrine and the others go to bed.

Of course, Emma and Jake are allowed to spend the night together which they make the most of, trying not to think about the upcoming separation.

On Sunday, they all try to finish everything in time. The teenagers and the children tidy up the house while Miss Peregrine and Ethan drive over to Catherine's to have a last check up before the trip. Luckily everything is still alright with Alma as well as the child, so even if they can't talk to Catherine about it Ethan thinks that it will be alright for the child when Alma lives inside the loop for some time. Catherine has assured them that if nothing major happens, the child won't come in the next weeks, so Alma doesn't need to worry about being alone during the birth.

As they return Ethan and all the boys go one last time to finish things in the house while Alma welcomes Ayla as Sandra drops her off. Even though she's quite excited about everything, she's still a bit nervous without her mother but Miss Peregrine is sure that it will change during their trip.

Then, before they know it, it's already early afternoon and all the children enter the car to leave. They all say goodbye to Jake and his parents before they leave Emma and Jake alone for an intimate goodbye.

And while Jake and his parents stand on the driveway, winking at them, Ethan, Miss Peregrine and the children drive off, looking forward to two great weeks.


	62. Author's note

**Author's note!**

 **Hello everyone. From your comments I finally realised that I made a mistake. I forgot to upload the second part of chapter 25, so you're right. You can't know Ayla yet.**

 **So thank you for noticing and telling me.**

 **You'll find the new part together with the first one in chapter 25 which is the 55. chapter here.**


	63. Chapter 29 Part I

**Chapter 29**

It's again a long way to the next loop, especially for Alma who gets quite uncomfortable in her car seat but it definitely doesn't get boring, especially not in the new car.

The children love that they are now all sitting next together and party to the music, Ethan has put on. He has also opened the windows for a light breeze in the hot weather. So Miss Peregrine leans back to enjoy the drive.

Also Ayla has forgotten about her homesickness and that she misses her family as it's just so much fun with the other children who play funny little games, laugh and sing together.

Because they hurried in the morning, it's only 2 p.m. as Ethan drives through the small village near the loop entrance in the swamps. And it's good, because he planned to stay here until the evening, to be there for Alma when she exits the loop for the first two times.

Miss Peregrine is still afraid that it might harm the child, even if all logic says otherwise. But Ethan understands her and to be honest, he's even a little bit nervous himself. This loop thing is still so new and unknown to him, that he just can't be sure that all his knowledge applies to a life there as well. And the risk of Alma going into labour is not to be underestimated and in no case does he want her to be alone then.

After Ethan has parked the car near the path that leads into the swamps where the loop entrance is, all the children get their things. Luckily this area is very deserted, probably a reason why they chose this spot for a loop, so no one notices 12 children and two adults walking into nowhere with their suitcases.

After they said goodbye to Ethan, one child after another disappears through the entrance, Emma taking Ayla's hand, which leaves Miss Peregrine as the last one.

"See you later then," Ethan says smiling at her. Miss Peregrine returns the smile before they both hug each other.

Alma stays a little longer in his embrace, revelling in Ethan's scent and the touch of his strong arms. She just needs this assurance one last time before she finds the strength to break the hug and say goodbye for now, already back to her confident self, even if it may just be a facade right now. But appearing strong helps her to feel brave enough to go. Thinking about all this makes her realise how ridiculous it is. She will see Ethan again in a couple of hours and even afterwards she will only be away for two weeks and spend a lovely holiday at Miss Avocet's. There's really no need to feel like this, especially not for Alma Lefay Peregrine. But also a strong ymbryne like herself is controlled by hormones. And hers are completely upside down at the moment.

After taking a deep breath and looking back at Ethan one last time, she turns around and follows her children, just thinking about the happy time she will spend with them.

On the other side of the loop, the children are already waiting for her. Together they find the way, leading to the door of the Panloopticon. And as Miss Avocet has told Alma where to find it, they don't have to look for long.

As they arrive in one of the rooms of Bentham's former residence and walk through the door into the corridor, they are surprised to see so many others there. Constantly, people are crossing the corridor, entering or coming from all the different rooms that lead to other loops.

Of course Miss Peregrine had known that the ymbrynes have restored everything and that they have used it to connect the whole peculiar world, but she wasn't expecting so many people using it all the time.

And also the house itself looks so much different than when the children saw it last. Nearly nothing reminds of the old house of Myron Bentham. The walls have been painted and the floors replaced. All in all it looks much more modern and bright.

While walking through the corridor, looking for the door to Miss Avocet's loop, Miss Peregrine explains to the children, that the ymbrynes now use this building for the Peculiar Archives and to hold the meetings of the Ymbryne council.

Mesmerized, the children take in all the signs at the many doors. It seems like the ymbrynes have connected every existing loop to this house.

Seeing all the names of this foreign places reinflames their wish to travel around the world like Jake's parents did.

But soon they arrive in front of the door to Miss Avocet's loop and these thoughts give way to their excitement about this new loop and the upcoming days.

As soon as Miss Peregrine has opened the door and they entered the room, they are blinded by sunlight again. Interested they all take in their surroundings.

Millard is first to walk through the furnished room out into the open. They come out of a small stone cave and are in the middle of a dark forest. After walking through a few trees, they come to a wide field. It's a sunny day, the sky is blue with just a few clouds and they can hear some birds in the sky and insects all around them.

"Oh yes, this is perfect for my bees," Hugh exclaims joyfully and lets them all stream out of his opened mouth. They immediately swarm around and find little flowers in the grass.

"Where is Miss Avocet's home?" Bronwyn asks and all the children start looking around.

In front of them, maybe 200 meters away they can see several buildings, probably a suburban housing development.

"I'm pretty sure that it's over there," Miss Peregrine says and points towards the left side of the area.

"Miss Avocet has told me that they are living in an old fire station and the house over there looks big enough and it seems like it has a little tower, don't you think?"

"Really?" Millard asks, interested in seeing a fire station from the inside and also the other children are now even more excited to see the house.

Together they make their way through the fields, over some patches of grass until they arrive at the street leading to the big house. In the gardens of the other houses some adults sit and talk, do some work or spend time with their pets or children. The area seems like a really nice and placid suburb, where the people just enjoy their lives, only not knowing that they are living the same day over and over again.

As they cross the street, Olive can already see Miss Avocet coming towards them. Apparently she has seen them arrive and wanted to welcome them.

Happily they all greet her and she embraces them all in a hug before leading them over to the house.

As Miss Peregrine has already guessed, it's the big house with the little tower. It is a beautiful old fire station which has been renovated and extended but hasn't lost its charm. They left all the old walls with their bricks and the big doors as well as the tower. The new walls are plastered and painted white, giving the building a modern touch. Also the garden is beautifully arranged with lots of flowers around the house and the driveway. On the left side of the building is a small group of trees and on the right side there's just one big tree among some bushes and flowers, leaving enough room to see the small lake behind it in the garden.

Excitedly the children follow Miss Avocet towards the front door and then inside. Next to the door are standing two strollers, indicating the presence of the toddlers in the house.

Entering the building the guests arrive in a really big and bright room, at the same time the corridor, living room, dining room and kitchen.

With their mouths agape the younger ones look around, amazed by all this. They have nearly forgotten what it means to live in such a big house as the one of Jake's parents made them come to terms with life in such a small environment.

In front of them they can see the stairs leading upstairs. From seeing the house from the outside, Miss Peregrine thinks that there are at least two more floors. To their left the room leads into a darker corridor with a few doors.

As Miss Avocet calls her children, the doors open and two girls and a boy come out of their rooms. The older girl carries a little boy in her arms and is followed by two little girls.

"Lupina!" the children call one of them, remembering the little girl that lived with them for some time.

The small girl walks past the others and storms towards them. Olive who has always been very close to her lifts her into her arms while the little girl laughs happily.

The other children don't look so enthusiastic. The little ones seem very shy and the older girl and the boy not very interested in their visitors.

Only the younger girl, round about 12 comes over and greets them.

"I'm Harper and I'm happy to finally meet you," she says and gives them all her best smile.

One after another Miss Peregrine and her children introduce themselves to her before Miss Avocet tells the others to come closer and introduces them.

Karen, the girl who carries the child is 16 years old and Arlo 15. The little boy, called Jimmy is a little bit younger than Lupina and the other little girl, Elaine, is already 3 and a half.

Soon the younger children get used to all the foreign people and start talking to them but the teenagers stay as reserved as before. To Miss Peregrine and the teenagers it seems as if they don't want them to stay here but hopefully their mood has another reason.

After Miss Avocet tells them all to wash their hands and then sit down at the two big dining tables they all enjoy a fantastic meal.

Sated and happy they all sit down on the few couches in the other corner of the room. There are three of them and also a few armchairs, arranged around a little table and positioned in front of some huge windows and a glass door leading to a terrace with - to the children's delight- a tiny swimming pool.

Opposite of the couches, next to the dining tables is a big fireplace and also a few armchairs.

Miss Peregrine gets the impression, that even if there are only 6 children living with Miss Avocet now, she has chosen and renovated this building to be big enough for a lot more inhabitants.

During dinner the teenagers of Miss Avocet have slightly gotten more talkative and are now even laughing with Enoch, Millard, Emma and Fiona.

Hearing their ymbryne talking to Miss Peregrine about her pregnancy they get really interested about it too and start asking lots of questions and would like to feel the child's movements, which are luckily quite palpable at the moment - even if they're not as strong and hard as they used to be.

After all their questions have been answered, Miss Avocet has planned to let her children now show their peculiarities to the newcomers.

"You already know Lupina's peculiarity," she begins. "And I'm happy to report that she is now able to nearly control it, a very talented girl. As for the other little ones, Jimmy is showing mild tendencies of telekinesis and Elaine seems to be able to see things, we can't. But so far, their peculiarities haven't developed enough to really know what they are capable of. And now you..." she encourages the others.

Of course Harper wants to be first.

"I can speak to nearly all kinds of animals," she says proudly and demonstrates her gift by calling a little puppy that has been sleeping under the stairs so no one was able to see it before. Of course Miss Peregrine's children are immediately distracted by the presentation and admire the cute little dog.

They have always wanted to have a dog but Miss Peregrine stayed strict and the fact that they now have the guinea pigs and the cat was pure luck and coincidence in the cat's case.

As Harper has finished and told the dog to go sleep again, Arlo stands up.

Concentrating back on him the children are already curious what he can do but he doesn't say anything.

Confused the children keep looking at him until one after another starts scratching his head, even Miss Peregrine.

Miss Avocet's children burst out laughing while the rest gets even more surprised.

"How did that happen?" Bronwyn asks confused and even a bit scared. "I didn't make my arm move."

"Neither did I," Millard says.

"It was you, right?" Miss Peregrine addresses Arlo, who smiles proudly.

"I'm able to control other peoples movements, at least to some extent."

"I see," Miss Peregrine says while the rest of the children are now laughing as well. "That's a very rare peculiarity." This makes Arlo smile even wider.

But suddenly the atmosphere changes. The children stop laughing and their faces get nearly sad. Also Miss Avocet looks worried and Miss Peregrine can feel her feelings from the last days return. As soon as they have entered this loop she has been distracted but now it's all back: her fear of what this all might do to the child, how she misses Ethan and her worries for their future.

Looking around she sees similar thoughts in her children's eyes and is sure to see Emma missing Jake right now.

"What is this all about?" she asks aloud, already guessing that it's not a natural phenomenon.

"That's me," Karen says and shows her face behind little Jimmy's body, sitting in the last corner of the big couch.

"All I can do is make people feel bad. They get sad and feel all their great worries at once." Her tone is sarcastic and her expression shows the hatred for that peculiarity, revealing how much sorrow it has caused her so far.

"Oh," the children answer, not knowing what to say.

"It's alright now, Karen," Miss Avocet says. "I'm sure everyone got a good impression of it."

Immediately Karen drops her gaze and disappears behind Jimmy again. Instantly the atmosphere lightens again and the children start discussing everything they just saw.

The afternoon passes quickly as all the children start playing in the garden. It's huge and wonderful. Behind the house are as many flowers as in front of it. Through the little lake leads a path out of stones to a little cobbled area with a fire pit.

In the middle of the garden is a little playground with sand, a seesaw and swings, nest to it a soccer goal and on the right side of the garden a dark forest with two tree houses.

While the children try out everything, Miss Avocet shows Miss Peregrine their loop exit to the present. It's in a cellar entrance, made out of stairs going down into the ground next to the forest. Miss Avocet explains that it's originally the entrance to a bunker and in the present, the fire station is deserted and run-down. While Miss Peregrine is watching her children, happy about how well Ayla is included in their games, Miss Avocet offers to follow her into the present as she has already been in the loop for 3 hours and it might be time to leave it for a while. But Miss Peregrine tells her that she arranged with Ethan to meet him back outside the loop in Florida, at least today.

Miss Avocet thinks it a very wise idea and asks Alma if she'd like some company, either her or one of the children but she declines and says she will manage alone.

"The children are playing so nicely and I'm alright. A bit of a walk will be a good exercise and Ethan always tells me to stay fit as it will help during labour," she says winking at her former ymbryne, who agrees with a smile.

Then they go back inside and while Miss Avocet comforts Elaine, who has fallen off the swing, Miss Peregrine drinks a glass of water before leaving the house to walk back over the field into the little forest with its cave. Again it's quite a distance and she's just happy that she doesn't have to walk all this way every time when leaving the loop.

Nervously she enters her brother's old house, ignoring the memories of him and the time in Devil's Acre forcing their way into her mind and walks back into the room of the swamp loop. She's now really agitated and feels her hands getting sweaty and beginning to tremble. Nonetheless she keeps up the pace and walks straight through the swamp towards the loop exit - a little gateway, half out of a few big rocks, half of an old crooked tree.

Arriving in the present she instinctively lets her hand caress her belly bump but so far she feels nothing out of the ordinary. It doesn't have to mean anything, though, as she didn't expected the aging process to start immediately.

Looking around she can't see Ethan, so she makes her way out of the swamp to the little parking area. Ethan's car is still there, but not Ethan himself. Confused, Alma looks around. And then she sees him, coming out from behind a group of trees.

Looking up at her his expression changes into shock and he looks at his watch.

"Oh, sorry, Alma. I wanted to wait for you directly in front of the exit but I forgot the time and now I just had to relieve myself," Ethan says winking at her. Miss Peregrine has to laugh before she walks over to him to hug him.

As they part, both of them get serious again. With the worry about where Ethan was Miss Peregrine briefly forgot about the reason why she's here.

"And?" Ethan wants to know, placing his hand on top of hers on her stomach.

Miss Peregrine shrugs. "So far nothing, but I'm sure it takes a while until my body truly arrives in the present."

She has thought about this theory a lot but came to the conclusion that it's very likely, that her aging process will start within a few minutes of being in the present again. Of course it has been different when she still lived in her loop. Then she was able to leave it for up to three days in a row, as is Miss Avocet. But now it's different. Being able to live in the present, made her body adapt to it again and its base is now in the present. There she ages, even if she's spending a few days in a loop in between. Only if she would be in a loop for a pretty long time in a row again, this balance will change again, moving her base back into the loop.

It's a very complicated theory, though, and for Alma, who has been an ymbryne for so long, this peculiar world is still full of surprises and wonders as well as unexplainable things. But it doesn't bother her as long as they are not dangerous for them.

Together the couple goes back into the car to sit down in one of the backseat rows. Ethan lays his arm around Alma and she rests her head on his shoulder. For a while they talk about Miss Avocet's loop and what Alma and the children have experienced so far and Ethan tells Alma about his afternoon. To use the time well, he had brought his laptop and some documents with him to do some paperwork for the office.

But then Miss Peregrine's hands shoot to her belly and she gives a stifled groan.

"Alma!" Ethan exclaims, sits up properly and turns to look at her.

"It's fine, I guess," Miss Peregrine says. "It feels like all the pains and cramps I've been having for some time now, just all at the same time and combined with quite strong Braxton Hicks contractions."

Ethan nods understandingly. "So it doesn't feel like it's dangerous?" he wants to make sure.

Alma slowly shakes her head while rubbing her stomach but she's not completely sure.

Some minutes the couple waits in the car, Alma leaning into Ethan's arms while he embraces her, caressing the exposed skin of her arms.

"Better now?" Ethan asks then and Miss Peregrine nods.

"The cramps have faded, it's just the tightening now," she explains.

Ethan is relieved, that Alma as well as the child are fine and that the time travelling apparently doesn't harm them. And who knows, maybe her body will even get used to it and the pain becomes less intense every time.

Ethan accompanies Miss Peregrine to the loop entrance, before they kiss their goodbye until later.

She has offered to bring him some food from Miss Avocet the next time, but Ethan told her that he will go and eat in the little village, where they met Miss Avocet the last time. He's nearly finished with his paperwork and has now enough time to do so.

The second time Miss Peregrine leaves the loop it's again without complications. Once more it's not painless but she's by now used to all the cramps and sharp pains she has been experiencing in the previous weeks. And to be honest, this is not much worse, just all the pains of the day at once.

Nonetheless both, she and Ethan. are really happy to know that she will be fine and Ethan can drive home reassured. They both arrange that Alma can call Ethan whenever she needs to. Shall something unexpected happen, he will be at the loop entrance within 2 to 3 hours. And even if she should go into labour it will be early enough and he can bring Catherine as well. Explaining her why Alma is alone in the middle of a swamp would be another thing, though.

Waving her goodbye, Ethan is standing on the parking area, watching Alma going back into the swamp to spend some great holidays in Blackpool.


	64. Chapter 29 Part II

**Chapter 29**

 **Part II**

The first days of their holidays are wonderful and they all spend a joyful time. For the children it's special to experience this everyday life inside a loop again. Even if there's a certain schedule because of the reset and everything, it's still less stressful and they don't have so many appointments like in the outside world. And besides, Miss Avocet has always been more relaxed with her loop schedule than Miss Peregrine.

Especially Ayla is very fascinated by everything and the other children have lots of fun showing her the characteristics of a loop, like all the little things that happen every day at the same time.

For Miss Peregrine it's really like a holiday as well: She can sleep as much as she needs, which is a lot at the moment, and she doesn't have to care about cooking, cleaning or the laundry either.

And here with Lisa around, she doesn't even feel guilty when leaving everything up to Miss Avocet. Lisa is just a wonderful young woman, very ambitious and talented.

Miss Avocet has told her that she found the young girl, working in a kindergarten. Unfortunately both her parents died just after she finished school with perfect marks. She had big plans for her life and wanted to go to University. But then, without a home or money, she had to get a job. As she has always been perfect with children, especially younger ones, this job offer arrived at the right moment.

She has never thought that something about her was different, but Miss Avocet saw her for what she was: a peculiar and not just that but even an ymbryne.

Lisa has never known that she could transform into a bird, she never felt an impulse to try something like that. But Miss Avocet knew it nonetheless.

Gladly, Lisa accepted the offer and came to live with her in the loop. Everything seemed like such an opportunity, she was special and after all her life was to become something great. Not as she has thought but still.

Miss Avocet only has to say great things about her, she's very enthusiastic and works hard to learn everything an ymbryne needs to know. It only took her a few days until she could transform into a cute little nuthatch without any problems. And then she could start practicing manipulating time. That is why she is already able to take care of the loop for a few days on her own and can help Miss Avocet a lot in their daily life, especially as they have so many visitors at the moment.

The children really enjoy their time. They get on very well with Miss Avocet's wards as also Karen who has been really moody in the beginning, is finally getting friendlier.

Miss Peregrine can understand why she is like that though. Her childhood must have been terrible when no one understood why he's feeling like that in her presence and she couldn't control it. Karen herself must have felt depressed all the time. Luckily she has learned to control it by now and neither Miss Peregrine nor the children have felt gloomy in her presence ever again. Life in the loop seems to do her good and Karen herself gets quite joyful from time to time, although she still can't bite back a few of her sarcastic comments.

One afternoon Miss Peregrine is sitting on one of the couches in the huge living room and reads in a book. Miss Avocet has still the largest library of all ymbrynes. All the important books about their history, politics and other peculiar stories can be found there. Miss Peregrine is surprised to find so many old books still here, even after Miss Avocet's old loop was raided and closed after the reset time. She has already found so many books that she used to read as she was younger and as she was in training. Even a few of the children's books Miss Avocet used to read to her and her brothers when they were little are still there, looking old and run-down but as beautiful as she remembered them.

Right now Miss Peregrine is reading one of those, a book with little stories and rhymes. She's really enjoying them and would love to read them to her child in a few months or years. She would ask Miss Avocet to borrow it but it probably wouldn't survive outside the loop, so she makes a mental note to ask Enoch to make some photos of her favourite pages with his phone.

Reluctantly, she has allowed him to take it with him, in case they would need to call someone or for taking photos to show to Ethan. After all, they are making a trip to another continent, even if they just needed a few minutes to get here.

As she feels someone sitting down next to her on the couch, she lifts her head and looks up, so absorbed has she been in the book.

"Oh, it's you," she says, looking into the eyes of Fiona. The last time she saw her, she was growing some flowers and vegetables in the garden. Getting fresh food for all of them was her way of helping Miss Avocet and thanking her for letting all of them stay. During all the time, Arlo never stopped hovering over her. He seems to have a little crush on Fiona, much to Hugh's disapproval. At home it's not really visible but now as there's obviously an opponent he's developing multiple signs of jealousy.

Shortly afterwards also Bronwyn and Claire take their seats on the couches. They have been playing with Ayla and Harper in the treehouses after Bronwyn has saved Ayla from Millard. He has found lots of books about peculiar history and loops all over the world and hasn't stopped reading since. Ayla who knows the least about it all was quite interested at first but soon she got bored and was happy that Bronwyn made her go outside with them.

Now they seem to have enough though and lean back into the soft pillows next to their ymbryne.

"What are you doing?"

"Why are you reading such a book?" they ask, so Miss Peregrine explains to them that she's preparing for the childhood of their soon-to-be born little one.

This starts a wild discussion of the children about the imminent end of Miss Peregrine's pregnancy, the birth and the time afterwards.

"I never want to get pregnant," Bronwyn exclaims laughing. "It doesn't seem nice to me and especially the prospect of the birth puts me off."

It's a rather childish thought and she will surely feel different about it when she's older and has found a partner that she loves but Miss Peregrine understands her reasoning. She herself is feeling quite crampy today. It's usually only after she returns from outside the loop but the cramps are slowly getting more frequent. Fiona notices her ymbryne rubbing her stomach and as Miss Peregrine has already explained to her that these cramps are very similar to period pain she feels for her.

"I always thought being pregnant is quite nice as it means that you don't get your period for so many months," Fiona says thoughtfully. "But now I get the impression that it's not really better."

"Oh children, I'm sorry to give you such an impression. I don't want you feel like that about pregnancies, in fact it's a very wonderful and happy time," Miss Peregrine explains.

"I want to have children, a lot of them," Claire says proudly and Miss Peregrine smiles at her lovingly.

"It really is one of the best things in life when you feel your child growing inside you. But you're right Fiona, when you're only comparing discomforts you're probably better off with only your period once a month," Miss Peregrine laughs.

The children seem to be satisfied with Miss Peregrine's answers and don't ask anything else. Only Miss Peregrine can't stop thinking about that subject. She really doesn't want to feel like she's not enjoying her pregnancy, she really is. Just not the painful and uncomfortable parts, that have increased lately. It has been a great time but now she really wants the pregnancy to end and finally enjoy the time with their child.

Just before her thoughts keep wandering to Ethan and that she really misses him here from time to time, Claire pulls at her sleeve.

"Miss P.?" she asks. "Why does Karen have these white and red lines on her arms?"

Miss Peregrine is surprised about such a question and needs to think about what to answer while her other girls look up. They seem to want to hear her explanation as well.

"I know what you mean," Miss Peregrine begins. "I think they are scars, she probably got hurt somehow."

Claire nods understandingly but the others aren't completely satisfied.

"But how can one get hurt like that, I mean your lower arm isn't the first part of the body that gets hurt when you have an accident," Bronwyn points out and Fiona agrees with her.

"As far as I can tell it's the only skin, showing these scars. So only her arms got hurt?"

"Do you think she go tortured because she was peculiar? Or maybe even by wights who wanted her soul?" Bronwyn guesses.

"No I don't think so, Bronwyn," Miss Peregrine answers and shakes her head.

"But it looks exactly as if someone cut her with a knife or something," Bronwyn insists.

Miss Peregrine nods. She can understand why her girl might think that.

"What do you think?" Fiona asks her. She already has an idea of her own, but she's not sure.

"I can't say for sure," Miss Peregrine says. "But I think it's possible that she has hurt herself."

"But why would someone deliberately hurt himself?" Bronwyn asks shocked while Fiona nods.

Miss Peregrine looks to her side at Claire before she continues. The youngest one of them has followed their discussion but she surely doesn't understand everything as she doesn't look shocked at all.

"I know what you mean, Bronwyn. I couldn't do it either. But some people who are very sad and lonely do that to themselves. They do it to relieve emotional pain or to get attention."

"I've heard of something like that," Fiona says. "There was this psychologist at the school to inform us and to help some of the other students."

"But that's a really good campaign, it has surely helped a few children," Miss Peregrine guesses.

"Yes, I think so," Fiona says.

"So you think Karen has really hurt herself?" Bronwyn asks again.

"I think it's possible," Miss Peregrine clarifies. "I mean we can all imagine how hard her life must have been. Miss Avocet has only just found her a few months ago and until then she lived outside of a loop, never knowing that she was peculiar, not knowing what was happening to her and the people around her. You all have endured terrible things in your life before the loop and now imagine feeling like you did when Karen showed us her peculiarity on top of everything else. That must be really hard and when Karen didn't have any support I could imagine her doing it."

"Me too," Fiona agrees. "It must have been a really sad life for her."

Also Bronwyn and Claire nod thoughtfully but they don't ask any more questions.

"But now she's living here and learns to control her feelings. And I think that she has already gotten happier," Miss Peregrine says to lighten the mood. And it works: the children smile and think about all the fun things they have done with Karen since they came here. She's really cool and can be very funny when she wants to.

But then their discussion is interrupted by Emma and Olive. They have helped Miss Avocet and Lisa in the kitchen and are now calling all the children to get ready for dinner.

Both teenagers are a little bit annoyed about Arlo and Karen. They are not really younger than they are, at least not from their apparent age, and they have no manners and don't help their ymbryne a lot. They are usually doing what they want, in their rooms or somewhere else in the house.

They behave like typical modern pubescent teenagers and make more work than they help. Emma, Olive and Enoch, who have been educated by Miss Peregrine in a completely different era, can't understand it at all. It's the same with some of their classmates back in Florida. They also do only fun things and never help at home.

And even as they all came to Miss Peregrine ages ago, they were different and so was Jake, even if he's from the present.

But they can't change it and have to accept the way they are. Miss Avocet will hopefully teach them some manners and maybe they even learn something now as they see them helping the adults.

On the next day, Lisa and Miss Avocet have planned something special for their guests. They want to show them a blueberry plantation that is just two villages away. Miss Avocet's children already know the place, they all go there sometimes and get blueberries for dessert, cake, ice cream, marmelade or smoothies. It's a wonderful place where you can pick the berries yourself, even taste them while doing so and then pay at the end what you want to take home. All the children even the three toddlers always love their trips there.

So Lisa got the idea to show it to the others as well. Of course everyone was really excited about the news during the breakfast. They have never been to a place like that and all of them love blueberries.

After eating their breakfast, they all get dressed and set off. As they don't have enough bikes, they decided to walk the few kilometres. It's not that long and they have the whole day for their trip.

Miss Avocet has allowed for her children to have a holiday as well while their guests are there, so there won't be any lessons in these two weeks.

Only Miss Peregrine didn't feel up to such a walk and as she told the others that it's fine when she stays at home, they decided to go without her. So while all the others leave the house with the toddlers sitting in a handcart, Miss Peregrine uses the time to read some more and enjoy the silence. She even goes into the little pool and swims a little bit. More exercise than this is definitely off the cards right now. As Miss Avocet has told her that there are some leftovers in the fridge, she has some of it for lunch and then catches up on her sleep.

Meanwhile the children have arrived at their destination and are provided with a bucket each. The buckets have been weighed before so that they can subtract it later when weighing the berries.

With the buckets tied around their waists the children and the adults are led through the plantation to the row where they are supposed to harvest. Then the fun can begin. Immediately everyone starts picking the little blue delicacies. Half of them reach the bucket but the rest only make it into the children's mouths.

"They are so yummy!" Claire says and smiles with her mouth already slightly blue. The others laugh but have to agree.

"What are we doing with so many berries afterwards?" Emma asks Miss Avocet. She has already filled half of her bucket while the ones of the younger children are still nearly empty.

"There are lot of things we can do with them, but you're right, we don't need to buy all the berries of the plantation. But I guess it's no problem when we're picking a bit more. The younger ones won't do as much."

"No probably not," Enoch and Olive laugh, looking at the others.

Millard and Hugh have just started a competition about who can put the most berries into his mouth.

"Boys," Miss Avocet reprimands them. "This is still food and what you're doing isn't respectful."

"Sorry, Miss Avocet," Millard apologies laughing, his mouth still full of berries. He could fit 30 berries into his mouth and won against Hugh who had to stop at 26, nearly choking while trying to swallow everything.

Miss Avocet just wanted to warn them not to spit any of the food out onto the grass as that would have been even more disrespectful but she's interrupted by Claire and Bronwyn.

"Miss Avocet, what is this?" they ask interested and hold up a small green leave with something brown on it into her face.

Gently she takes the leave into her hand and squints her eyes to take a closer look.

"That's definitely a caterpillar but what kind?" she wonders aloud. "Hey Lisa," she calls. "You're the educated one here. Come over and take a look at this, what is it?"

Lisa puts down Lupina and Jimmy, whom she was holding up so that they could reach the berries, and approaches Miss Avocet.

Carefully, she looks at it, inspecting it from all sides. "It's a really beautiful caterpillar, with funny hair and it also has two feelers. Actually I really think that I've read about it, once in school. When I remember it correctly, it's a vapourer moth, or rather the caterpillar of one. I'm afraid that the caterpillar looks much more interesting than the moth will, though."

Interested all the children gather around the two ymbrynes and the little animal.

"It really does look funny," Fiona says and tilts her head to inspect it better. "And so cute!"

"I want to call him Harry!" Claire decides, jumping up and down in joy. "Can we please take him back home and watch until he hatches?"

"Oh yes, please, Miss Avocet," Bronwyn begs.

"I'm not sure, girls," the ymbryne says thoughtfully. "I mean it's his home here, it can't be good for him to take him elsewhere and we don't even know what he eats. Here he has everything he needs."

"But we can look it up on the Internet," Fiona points out, really fascinated by this little guy.

"Exactly," Bronwyn agrees. "He won't even know the difference when we'll also take some blueberry leaves with us."

"But he wants to stay here," Harper cuts in and moves from the back of the crowd to the front. She bends down next to the caterpillar and listens carefully before she makes some faint noises.

"He doesn't want to live elsewhere, here is his home and all his friends and family are here as well."

"How do you know?" Millard wants to know.

"Can you talk to caterpillars, too?" Fiona asks surprised.

Harper straightens up and looks back at the other children. "Of course," she half laughs. "I already told you that I can talk to nearly all animals."

"Wow!" the children exclaim, fascinated by her gift.

"But why doesn't he want to live with us?" Claire asks disappointed.

"He doesn't know us, Claire and he can't talk to anyone but me. That's not a nice life, without any fellow species."

Claire sighs.

"Alright," she says eventually. "Then we'll let him here. But can you tell him, that I would like him to keep the name 'Harry'?"

Harper nods and then bends down again to communicate with the small animal on the leave.

As she's done and has assured Claire that Harry likes the name, they put him back to where they found him and carry on with the blueberries.

After some time, during which the toddlers have gotten blueberry stains all over themselves and the other younger ones have eaten too many berries, the ymbrynes decide that they have picked enough.

They walk back to the entrance where they let their buckets be weighed and pay for what they want to take home.

On the way back, the toddlers fall asleep in the handcart after Lisa has cleaned at least their hands and faces with a handkerchief. Claire and the twins are getting tired and whiny too. They are beginning to feel nauseous from eating so many blueberries and don't want to walk all the way back again.

But Miss Avocet stays strict.

"No one made you eat all the berries. You decided to do so yourself, now you have to bear the consequences."

As they finally arrive at home all the children have to wash themselves, while Lisa and Miss Avocet carry the little ones into their beds. But not without changing their dirty clothes first.

The teenagers store all their buckets in a fridge in the cellar and the twins and Claire join their ymbryne on the couch. They are still feeling nauseous and even if it's their own fault Miss Peregrine comforts them and they can snuggle up to her. After she swam in the pool and ate something for lunch, Miss Peregrine took a shower and a short nap before returning to the couch, where she was reading when the children arrived. Now her three youngest are sprawled out around her, breathing troublesomely.

The rest of the afternoon, no one wants to see any more blueberries. Only Miss Peregrine eats a few as Emma gets her a bowl from the cellar. Millard tells her that blueberries are really good for her and the baby as it strengthens the immune system as well as the child's bones among other things. Gratefully Miss Peregrine accepts the treat of her children and she's really surprised that they are so big and sweet. The blueberries she used to pick as a child were way smaller and grew in the forest on the ground.

After the dinner all the children go to bed early. They are quite tired from the long walk and really stuffed from eating so much, berries as well as pasta. Lisa tucks in the toddlers, while Miss Avocet cleans up the kitchen. The older ones go to bed alone, only Claire and the twins begged for Miss Peregrine to read them something. Since the evening, they felt slightly better and even managed to eat something for dinner.

As all of Miss Avocets wards have their rooms on the ground floor with her all the guests occupy the empty rooms upstairs next to Lisa's room.

Miss Avocet as the oldest and experienced ymbryne has always taken on more children than the others and also the ymbrynes in training are living in her loop. Therefore she planned the building big enough to house more children than she momentarily cares for, which is quite convenient at the moment. Nearly all of Miss Peregrine's children have their own room. While the teenagers have chosen the rooms on the third floor Miss Peregrine and the others are on the second floor. Even if Miss Peregrine has to take the stairs to reach her room she at least gets some time on her own there, with no noises from the outside as the children spent their days downstairs.

As all children are in bed, the adults and teenagers sit in the living room a bit longer. Miss Avocet has opened a bottle of wine for her and Lisa and also Enoch, Olive and Emma are allowed to at least sip a bit.

"It's to mark the occasion. We're not spending our holidays at Miss Avocet's every time," Miss Peregrine says.

Together they spend a funny time, talking about what the children got up to today and Miss Peregrine laughs about her girls' idea to take the caterpillar back home.

"It was a long day," she says eventually and shifts on her seat. "I think I'll retire to my room, I'm really tired."

"Of course!" Miss Avocet says understandingly. "And please sleep as long as you want to."

"I'll try but I can't lie for so long. Every position begins to hurt after some time, no matter if it's standing, sitting or lying," Miss Peregrine explains and shrugs.

"Oh, right..." Miss Avocet answers thoughtfully. "How are you feeling in general at the moment? Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"Nah, it's fine," Miss Peregrine assures her former ymbryne. "Everything is just getting really uncomfortable. The child has dropped a lot lately and even if it makes it easier for me to breathe I constantly have the feeling of carrying a ball between my legs. But it's just something I have to go through and luckily it's not for too much longer, even if these last weeks seem to go by very slowly. Then, sometimes I'm really excited and want to do a lot but on other days I'm just so exhausted and want to sleep all the time," Miss Peregrine explains.

"But that's fine, Alma," Miss Avocet assures her. "That's exactly why you're here: only to relax, take it easy and enjoy these last weeks of your pregnancy. And please let us know if you need help with something."

Also Lisa and the teenagers agree with Miss Avocet and nod.

"Alright." Miss Peregrine smiles at them all while shifting towards the edge of the couch.

"Thank you," she adds before pushing herself up into a standing position. Not long after she has left also the others go to their rooms.


	65. Chapter 29 Part III

**Chapter 29**

 **Part III**

The next day is once more determined by blueberries. With all the buckets full of berries they have to make something before they go off. As all the children have recovered from their excessive consume yesterday, they already like them again.

For breakfast Lisa and Miss Avocet have prepared blueberry smoothies and joghurt with blueberries and honey for all of them.

Afterwards Miss Avocet takes all the girls with her into the kitchen and together they are making blueberry jam. Of course the boys are allowed to join them but they rather help Lisa in the garden, as she's cleaning the pool as well as the little lake, where they have to get rid of the many plants that don't stop growing regularly.

Miss Peregrine is sitting on the couch again, with all three toddlers and reads their favourite books to them. At her feet lies the small puppy, snuggling up to her and from time to time licking her feet. This makes Miss Peregrine laugh as she's quite ticklish. While reading, she also watches her girls in the kitchen.

Miss Avocet has divided them all in little groups and every group can make their own jam. They have to at least rinse the berries a little bit, weigh them as well as the needed amount of sugar and decide if they want to add other ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon or other fruits as for example banana. Then they all go into the cellar to find some glasses, that they have to clean before Miss Avocet shows them how to cook the fruits until they're ready for filling into the glasses.

In the end they have four different kinds of jam, all made out of blueberries but with different tastes. They are allowed to open one glass each, so they can present their creations to the rest of the household. Miss Peregrine is really proud of her girls and loves their creations and also the boys like all the different tastes.

Then Miss Avocet takes care of lunch and Lisa and the children make some blueberry ice cream for dessert.

As there are still berries left in the afternoon, Emma and Olive decide to bake a big cake with the others. As Miss Avocet and Lisa have already done so much today and they have also other things to do, Emma and Olive thought it nice to keep the children occupied with something.

The little ones are taking a short nap and Miss Avocet has taken Lisa and Ayla into her room to teach them new things about peculiardom.

Only Miss Peregrine is upstairs in her room. She has felt a bit nauseous all day and the constant smell of food downstairs didn't help much. The nausea isn't as bad as in her first trimester but she still feels unwell. So after reading a few books to the toddlers earlier, she excused herself and went upstairs.

For dinner, Fiona comes upstairs to get her. Luckily the nausea has faded enough and she can enjoy the fabulous meal that Lisa has cooked with Karen.

Then they all find their places on the couches or armchairs to watch Horace's dreams. Miss Avocet's children have been really curious about it as everyone told them about his peculiarity and also Miss Peregrine and the others haven't seen his presentation in a while.

Horace positions himself on an armchair in front of one of the white walls in the room. Immediately, different scenes start playing in front of the others' eyes. Especially Karen and Arlo are really fascinated by the good quality of them.

"It really looks like you're experiencing that moment live," Harper agrees.

Together they watch different scenes: There's a beautiful night sky with lots of stars and even a shooting star, changing into the grass with all the children lying next to each other on the ground before they see Miss Avocet's house in broad daylight and suddenly there's Ethan.

"Who is he?" Miss Avocet's children ask curiously.

"That's my partner," Miss Peregrine explains happily. She doesn't understand why Horace dreamt of Ethan being here but not all of his dreams have to mean something and she's just really happy to see Ethan, even if it's just like this.

"Wow, he's really good looking," Karen whispers to Emma and winks at her. Emma has to laugh out loud but has to agree with her. This was one of her first thoughts when meeting Ethan for the first time, but now he's just so much more to her and their family.

The rest of Horace's dreams are mostly about him finding new clothes or seeing people with elegant suits, so the other children get boring soon enough and Horace stops the presentation.

They all stay downstairs a little longer and keep talking.

"Oh no! Come have a look at this!" Karen shouts at them and then starts giggling. "Quick!"

While the others were busy talking she wanted to sneak outside and smoke. She's not a real smoker, at least not anymore, since she came to Miss Avocet. But from time to time when there's an opportunity and no one will see her, she enjoys one of the cigarettes she has still left. But just as she stepped out of the terrace door, she saw it.

As told, all the children run towards her, followed by the adults as well. At seeing what Karen saw they have to laugh too.

"A hedgehog!" Ayla exclaims happily surprised.

"And he tried our cake," Claire laughs.

"Oh no, we totally forgot to take it back inside after cooling down," Emma says, looking at Olive.

"He really seems to like it, though," Enoch points out and they all watch the little animal munching the blueberry cream cake.

"And what are we going to do now?" Fiona asks. "Can we still eat the cake?"

Lisa gets a knife and steps in front of the group, outside onto the terrace.

"I'm sure that he has just tasted this small area of the cake, the rest is still fine." Then she just cuts off the cake, where the hedgehog has started eating and leaves it for him, while taking the rest of the cake back inside. As she approached him, the hedgehog got scared and started to run away but as soon as Lisa has disappeared and closed the door behind her again, he turned back around and devoted himself fully to the rest of cream, berries and dough again.

Inside all the children are still laughing and watching him through the glass door and windows. They still can't believe that something like that just really happened.

"You're very lucky to experience something like that," Miss Peregrine points out. "Not many children today get to see something like that, especially not in the city."

The children nod happily and keep watching the hedgehog until Lisa calls them . She has cut the cake into multiple pieces and they all have a late dessert before they go to bed.

In the course of the week, the children keep playing a lot in the garden and enjoy their holidays greatly, while Miss Peregrine retreats more and more into her room and doesn't spend much time with them. It's not that she doesn't want to but everything has gotten so exhausting and all her symptoms are continually getting worse, the cramps and sharp pains she's experiencing for some time now as well as the nausea and also her worries about the future. Especially after returning from her quick visits into the present she feels quite unwell for some time and lies down in her bed.

On top of that it doesn't help that she's having her nightmares again. As Ethan is not with her at the moment, the little time she falls asleep one bad memory after another haunts her.

Outside the boys all play a soccer game together. It's a very sunny and warm day, at least for Blackpool. Lisa sits with the little ones on their playground where they play with the sand and Ayla and Claire play on the slide and the swings. Fiona and Bronwyn are showing Harper and Karen some things they learned in their gymnastics training on the grass next to the others, the little puppy running around them, while Emma and Olive are just lying on the grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

As Emma sees that Olive has closed her eyes and seems to have dozed off, she gets up and decides to see if she can help Miss Avocet who's preparing their lunch in the kitchen.

But Miss Avocet is nearly ready, so Emma starts setting the two tables for them all.

"Where is Miss Peregrine?" she asks the other ymbryne as she places the last plate on the table.

"I think she's upstairs, maybe she has lain down," Miss Avocet guesses, seasoning the stew she has made.

"She is spending a lot of time there lately," Emma points out. "Is she alright?"

"I think so, yes. It's just a very hard time for her at the moment."

"I know that but should she be alone? I mean wouldn't it be better if she spent time here with us, so we can help her and distract her? It can't be good for her to be on her own all the time."

"That's true, Emma," Miss Avocet agrees. "But Alma is going through a phase where she thinks a lot about what's coming and everything, she might just need the time on her own."

"I don't know," Emma insists. "She may only get too worried when she thinks on her own. If Ethan were here, he would know how to distract her and make her more happy. He always knows what Miss Peregrine needs. But unfortunately he can't be here..." Emma sighs and sits down on one of the chairs as she has finished setting the table.

"Yes, he's really good for Alma, I've seen that too," Miss Avocet says thoughtfully as her thoughts wander off.

"Shall I go get her?" Emma asks then.

"What? Whom?" Miss Avocet asks back, ripped out of her thoughts.

"Miss Peregrine. Shall I get her for lunch?" Emma asks again.

"Oh, yes, of course. She needs to eat even though she doesn't seem to have much of an appetite lately," Miss Avocet answers before she turns back around to her stew and starts thinking again.

As all the children and adults have sat down at the table they start eating Miss Avocet's tasty meal. Miss Avocet has served Miss Peregrine a rather huge amount of stew, which Alma eats completely. She knows that she needs to eat even though she's not hungry at the time and today she luckily feels less nauseous and can enjoy the delicious stew.

During the meal, Millard tells them all that it's a really special day in the present today.

"Tonight you're supposed to see lots of shooting stars at the sky. Up to 100 per hour."

"Wow! That's more than one per minute," Bronwyn says amazed.

"I'd like to see them," Claire begs her ymbryne and also the other children are really enthusiastic about the idea.

"But it's only in the present, right Millard?" Miss Avocet wants to make sure and Millard nods, his mouth full of food.

"But can't we go anyway?" Harper asks.

"Yes, a few hours in the present won't kill us," Karen argues.

Miss Avocet seems to think about the idea, she looks at Lisa and Miss Peregrine who seem to be alright with it as well.

"Ok, children, we can take a look at the sky tonight. We will go outside the loop but stay on this lot, next to the old building of the fire station, alright?"

The children nod cheerfully and start talking about tonight all at the same time.

The afternoon, they all spend in the garden again. As it's really hot outside, they decide to go into the swimming pool.

Emma could convince Miss Peregrine to at least lie down in the garden with them and as all of the children dressed to go into the pool, she decided that it will also be good for her to go into the water again. This is at least something she can still do with her children and as the water takes all the weight of her body, she also feels less pregnant and more agile there too.

Emma and Olive put some arm floats on the toddlers and together they go into the pool. The water is quite cool but it's really refreshing for them all. The little ones enjoy playing in the water, splashing it into each other's faces.

With them all inside the pool, it's quite crowded but funny at the same time. They only have to take care that they don't kick Miss Peregrine accidently when swimming around her.

As soon as they are all exhausted and some of the little ones already have blue lips, they exit again. Miss Peregrine dries herself and then helps with the toddlers before they get dressed while the other children let the sun dry them.

The rest of the afternoon, the children play again while Miss Peregrine and the toddlers go for a nap to be well rested for the evening.

After the dinner they get everything ready, so that they can leave their loop at 9 o'clock. The sun has just set, so that the sky is now a mid-blue. Some stars are already visible but they get clearer the darker the night gets.

The children take in their surroundings. Miss Avocet's wards have been here before and know how their house looked before Miss Avocet created the loop and had it renovated but Miss Peregrine's children are surprised by the drastic change. This fire station in the present is deserted and run-down. After the fire department seems to have left the building, no one ever entered it. And also the garden is one big mess.

The adults and teenagers place all the blankets and mats they have brought onto the ground before the children can make themselves comfortable on them. They have all brought at least one pillow and another blanket each. Miss Peregrine has gotten an extra thick mat and lots of pillows to get comfortable enough so that she can lie some time on the hard ground.

Then they all snuggle up to each other and look up into the sky, which's getting darker every minute.

For some time nothing happens but also the bright stars on the dark sky are very beautiful. Millard explains all the constellations of the stars they can see to the rest of them.

"There!" he shouts suddenly. "There was one, have you seen it?" he asks the others and some of the children nod.

"I didn't see one," Claire pouts. "Me neither," Ayla, Harper, Bronwyn and Hugh say.

"Don't worry, we didn't either," Miss Avocet and Lisa say.

"It was very small and faint," Miss Peregrine says. Of course she could detect it with her sharp vision, even if she didn't look at the exact spot where it was to be seen.

"There will surely be more bigger ones," Millard assures them. "But nonetheless you have to look everywhere at the same time. Just try looking in a big circle on the sky. Most of the shooting stars can only be seen when you look in the right direction at the right moment. Only the really big ones can be seen from the corner of one's eyes."

The children nod and try looking around as Millard has said. And it seems to work and they all see lots of shooting stars. As Miss Peregrine has told them, the children make little wishes every time they see one.

"But don't tell your wish to anyone," Lisa adds. "Then it won't come true." While saying that she looks at Miss Peregrine and both of them have to hide their smile. It's a nice thought to get a free wish when seeing a shooting star and especially tonight but neither of them believes that they really come true.

Nonetheless they enjoy the spectacle in the sky as well. For nearly an hour they all stay there and look at the sky intently, waiting for the next shooting star. The toddlers have already fallen asleep and also the other younger children have problems keeping their eyes open any longer. It's just too comfortable in their pile of blankets and pillows.

Also Miss Peregrine is starting to get more uncomfortable. Her pelvis is hurting and also the cramps have started again as she's in the present now. Besides it's getting pretty cold in the night here, not like in Florida where the heat is finally getting bearable at night, and she has given her second blanket to the little ones.

Therefore she is getting up pretty soon and wakes Claire, Ayla and the twins who are already half-asleep. They are too big to be carried back to bed by now, so she takes them with her into the loop again. And also Miss Avocet takes the toddlers and follows her while Lisa stays with the rest of the children outside. They didn't want to leave yet, still enjoying the amazing sight and not tired at all.

After they have tugged in the children, Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet wait on the couches for the others. They are both wrapped into two blankets as they have gotten really cold earlier. Here in the loop it's still warm during the night but in late August, it can already get quite cold when the sun sets.

It's already half past ten and their eyelids are drooping as they are so tired but they don't want to go to bed before the others return.

Luckily they enter the terrace door just before 11 o'clock. They are still excited and keep talking about what they experienced but at the same time they are also tired and go to bed immediately. Glad that all the children are back, the ymbrynes go to bed themselves.


	66. Chapter 29 Part IV

**Chapter 29**

 **Part IV**

Understandingly everyone sleeps very late the next morning. Like always Miss Avocet is first to wake up and leaves her room to start with the breakfast preparations. Entering the kitchen, she's surprised to see Miss Peregrine sitting at the table though. She has made herself a cup of lemon juice with honey and is now sipping at her hot liquid which makes the whole kitchen smell of the ingredients.

"Good morning, Alma," Miss Avocet greets her and sits down next to her. "Why are you up so early, couldn't you sleep any longer?"

"No, I woke up an hour ago and couldn't lie down anymore," Miss Peregrine explains. "Besides, my throat felt quite scratchy so I thought this might help."

Miss Avocet nods understandingly. "Therefore the lemon..."

"Yes," Miss Peregrine says and takes another sip.

Miss Avocet looks at her. "You look tired, girl. Do you need more rest?"

Miss Peregrine shrugs. "Probably but I just can't sleep more than an hour in a row. Everything is just too uncomfortable at the moment."

"Is there anything we can do to help you more?"

Miss Peregrine shakes her head. "I don't think so, I just have to get the last weeks over with." She forces herself to smile at her former ymbryne. She shouldn't have to worry about her.

Then Miss Peregrine stands up."But I might go back to bed again, if it's alright," she says.

"Of course my dear! Stay there as long as you feel like but don't forget that you also have to eat. Shall I bring you something upstairs when we're having breakfast?"

"I'll try to come down by then but yes, if I'm not here it would be nice."

"Alright," Miss Avocet says and goes into the kitchen while Miss Peregrine makes her way upstairs again.

Soon the first children come out of their rooms and also Lisa, who has taken care of the toddlers and then the puppy, joins Miss Avocet in the kitchen. As they serve the breakfast, all the children already sit on their chairs. Hungrily but still well behaved they start eating all the different things Miss Avocet has cooked. They are as good as the food Miss Peregrine makes but at the same time it always tastes a little bit different which makes a good variation.

As they have nearly finished, also Miss Peregrine joins them.

"I just wanted to come upstairs," Miss Avocet says but is happy that the younger ymbryne sits with them. Emma is right, she needs the company, brooding alone in her room can't be healthy.

Together they spend a relaxed day. For the first time since their visit it's raining outside, so all the children play in the living room. Miss Peregrine lies on the couch, again with the puppy on her lap. Absentmindedly she caresses its head and watches the children play board games on the floor.

Soon though they get bored from it and while the boys go inside Arlo's room to play with a few of his toys, the younger girls climb onto the couch next to Miss Peregrine.

"Miss P., do you want to play with us?" Claire asks excitedly which makes Miss Peregrine smile.

"We want to try some make-up and want to do our hair," Fiona clarifies.

"Karen, Emma and Olive are just getting everything we need," Bronwyn adds.

Miss Peregrine hesitates for a moment.

" Why not..." she answers then and sits up to make more space on the couch.

Soon all the girls are sitting around her, doing each other's hair or make-up. After Bronwyn painted Claire's eyes the way Karen did with Fiona's, both girls do the same with Miss Peregrine's.

Emma takes care of Ayla's make-up and Olive does Harper's. Then Fiona and Harper put Miss Peregrine's hair into a spectacular plait while Bronwyn and Karen do their hair.

In the end everyone has wonderful hair and a more or less beautiful make-up. But no one complains as the younger ones are still learning and therefore their results are completely fine, even a lot better than you would expect from for example a 6-year-old.

As the others see them, they are amazed by the results. Especially Arlo can't take his eyes off Fiona who looks so different but not less beautiful with make-op on.

After they have all eaten lunch, Lisa brings the toddlers into their room for an afternoon nap and the rest of the children follow Miss Avocet's children into their rooms to play something. The boys want to resume their game from early and also Harper and Karen have lots of things they can do with Miss Peregrine's girls.

Only Ayla doesn't go with them. She is feeling quite sad and misses her family. As she knows her better, Miss Avocet takes Ayla to Miss Peregrine who is sitting on one of the couches again.

Now they are both trying to calm down the younger child, making her feel better and distract her a bit until she can smile again.

"You know, I miss Ethan as well but we will see them all again very soon and until then we can have lots of fun here, don't you think?" Miss Peregrine says and Ayla nods hesitantly.

It was something she said to make the girl feel better about her homesickness but as Miss Avocet looks into Alma's eyes she can tell that she really meant it, too. It's not good for her in her current state to be separated from the one person, who can support her the best.

But Miss Avocet doesn't say anything and for Ayla it seems to have worked.

Happy again, she jumps off the couch and runs into Harper's room where the others are playing with her dolls, leaving the two ymbrynes alone again.

Miss Peregrine lies back once more.

"I'm going to help Lisa with the laundry," Miss Avocet informs her as Lisa walks past them into the cellar with a huge pile of dirty children's clothes in her arms.

"Do you need anything else?"

Miss Peregrine shakes her head. "I might just close my eyes for a while."

"That's a good idea." Miss Avocet smiles at her. "How's your throat by the way?"

Miss Peregrine tells her that she still has a sore throat, so despite her objection, Miss Avocet walks back into the kitchen to make her another cup of hot water with lemon juice and honey.

"It may have been a bit too cold for you yesterday after all, with the swimming and the night outside.," Miss Avocet guesses. "But hopefully this will help soon."

Miss Peregrine thanks her, then Miss Avocet follows Lisa into the cellar.

The rest of the day passes as relaxed as the forenoon. The children keep playing together, also with the toddlers who are awake again and Lisa and Miss Avocet use the time to get some housework done. Miss Peregrine feels guilty for watching them work while she lies on the couch but she feels especially tired today and sleeps most of the afternoon and evening.

After the dinner, a few children want to walk out of the loop again. It may not be the same as last night but Millard told them that there are still more shooting stars than normally.

The rest of the children chose one of the movies in the house and watch it from the couches until all of them are tired and go to bed.

Unfortunately Miss Peregrine develops more cold symptoms during the next days. Just before her throat gets a bit better she starts having a runny nose as well as a cough and feels also more tired than before.

Of course it doesn't make her happy and just increases her discomfort as well as depressing her further.

Miss Avocet looks after her, makes her rest enough and brings her lots of tea or something to eat. As Miss Peregrine can't take any medication, she finds lots of natural remedies to soothe the effects of the cold but Alma still feels miserable.

And also the teenagers are worried about their ymbryne. Emma even thinks she has heard Miss Peregrine cry silently in her a room as she thought everyone was downstairs.

And also Miss Avocet and Lisa aren't sure how dangerous her illness might be for the pregnancy. Miss Avocet checks Alma's temperature regularly and so far she hasn't developed a fever but they are still worried.

On Saturday afternoon Emma and Olive decide to call Ethan, to ask him for advice and let him know about Miss Peregrine's cold. Also Enoch and Miss Avocet think that's a wise decision, so Miss Avocet gives Emma their phone before she's called to help Elaine in the bathroom.

Emma dials the number of Ethan's mobile phone and waits. As he answers the call Emma says that it's her and tells him about everything. Suddenly her expression changes and she looks very confused, though. Then she takes away the phone and places it back on the table.

"He said he doesn't know me nor Miss Peregrine and hung up," Emma reports dumbfounded and looks up at the others.

Olive frowns and also Enoch tries to find an explanation.

"Was it really Ethan? Maybe you dialled the wrong number," he suggests but Emma shakes her head.

"No, it must have been his number, it was definitely his voice."

"Oh no, I know what's wrong," Enoch says finally. Emma and Olive look at him expectantly as they still haven't got a clue what caused this behaviour.

"You called Ethan, that's right but you called him more than one year ago."

Olive looks at Enoch, still not understanding what he's saying.

"Oh of course!" Emma exclaims suddenly. "We're in Miss Avocet's loop and if we call him from here, he gets the call in 2017. So he was right, he really can't know us, as Miss Peregrine met him afterwards."

"Ahh," Olive says as she has know understood the problem as well. "But then you just have to go outside the loop to call him."

"Yes, that must work," Enoch agrees with Olive.

"Ok," Emma says and takes the phone with her into the garden, down into the bunker and back upstairs again, outside of the loop.

Looking at the run-down fire station she dials again and this time it works. Ethan answers the phone and immediately knows who he is talking to. Slowly Emma explains about Miss Peregrine's symptoms, pregnancy and cold related and then also lets him know about her mental state lately.

Of course Ethan worries as well but at least regarding the cold he can calm her down. As long as she's not having a fever, showing any signs of pneumonia or another severe infection she and the child should be fine. She just needs to rest a lot and also the natural remedies, that Miss Avocet has tried are good to help her, as long as she doesn't use any herbs that aren't good during pregnancies.

Emma nods understandingly as Miss Avocet appears behind her. Shocked form her sudden appearance, she jumps and nearly lets the phone fall to the ground.

"Sorry, Emma," Miss Avocet apologizes. "But may I speak to Ethan as well?"

"Of course," Emma says immediately and explains it to Ethan before saying goodbye and handing the phone to Miss Avocet.

"Hello, Ethan" she says . "I guess, Emma has already filled you in on everything but there's something else I need to talk to you about."

With a gesture of her hand Miss Avocet makes Emma go back down the stairs and into the loop, only then does she continue.

"I've got an idea. But Alma strongly disapproves and she's right, it can be quite risky."

As Ethan wants to hear it, she tells him everything that she has planned during the last days when thinking about Miss Peregrine's health.

In the end, they agree on meeting in front of the loop entrance where he dropped off Alma and the kids last weekend. Then Miss Avocet walks back inside the loop and the house.

As Ethan could assure them that from what they've told him Miss Peregrine will be fine, they are now more relaxed and go to play with the younger children again.

Miss Avocet finds Lisa and after a short talk, she disappears into her room, only to come back 15 minutes later. Then she walks back upstairs and checks on Miss Peregrine again. She still feels tired and uncomfortable with her multiple symptoms but apart from that she's quite alright and even suggests to come downstairs for the rest of the afternoon.

Miss Avocet is not sure if she's really in a nearly good mood or just pretending to be and wants to help or play with the children, but it doesn't matter, she still tells her to stay in bed and rest.

"That's the best thing you can do now, sleep as much as possible. And if you need anything, please call one of us."

Miss Peregrine nods gratefully and closes her eyes. Miss Avocet was right, she really feels very tired and sleep will do her good. Even if it's not very restful when she needs to change her position every half an hour and when her nose is so congested that she can't breathe normally. But Miss Avocet has brought her a salve earlier, that she can apply on her chest and that will ease up the congestion and with a few pillows she might even be able to find a nearly comfortable position for her hips and back.

Downstairs, Lisa is just painting with the toddlers and also Ayla, Claire and the twins join them. They are sitting on the floor in the living room and paint on big sheets, Lisa has organized.

Together they paint a big fairy castle with lots of towers and flowers, before the boys add a little army of knights to protect the fairies.

"This looks really beautiful," Miss Avocet says as she passes the little group while going into the kitchen to start the dinner preparations.

After cutting up some vegetables with meat and adding some potatoes and a sauce, she puts it into the oven. Afterwards she goes to get the teenagers out of their rooms. The boys have started playing on their computer again and it has definitely been enough. Miss Avocet doesn't like her children sitting in front of these devices all of the time.

"Please come out and play something sensible instead," she tells the boys, who reluctantly follow her back into the corridor.

Then Miss Avocet gets the other girls who have been sitting in Karen's room, reading her magazines and talking about girls stuff. She sends the younger ones to Lisa and talks to Emma, Olive and Karen.

"Lisa and I will have to leave in a few minutes and it will take some time until we're back. The dinner is already in the oven and will be ready to serve in 45 minutes. Can you do that?"

"Of course, Miss Avocet," the girls assure her.

"But where will you go?" asks Karen curiously.

"That's not of importance, Karen," Miss Avocet makes clear. "And can you also take care of the children?"

"Of course," Emma says again.

"And if we're not back early enough, could you also tuck them in when they are tired?"

"We will manage, Miss Avocet," Olive laughs.

"Exactly, we're used to looking after our siblings," Emma adds, smiling.

"Alright, alright," Miss Avocet says, finally convinced that she can leave the house to the children.

"And if something happens, Miss Peregrine is still upstairs. She's sleeping now and I would like her to stay asleep if possible."

Again the girls nod.

"Does she need anything?" Emma asks.

"I don't think so, I told her to call if, though. But you could bring her something to eat and drink, then you can see for yourself."

"Will do!"

Then Miss Avocet and Lisa get their jackets and leave through the front door, heading for the small forest with the door in the cave.

"Where are they going?" the children want to know immediately, but the teenagers shrug.

"She hasn't told us," Karen says annoyed.

"It will be something that only concerns ymbrynes," Emma says and ends the conversation. "So, what do you want to play until dinner is ready?"

"Can we go back into my room?" asks Arlo.

"No, Miss Avocet didn't want you to play more computer games. So find something else to play with."

The boys aren't happy about Emma's decision but they don't want to put up a fight.

Together the children agree on a board game, even if the boys are less enthusiastic about it.


	67. Chapter 29 Part V

**Chapter 29**

 **Hi everyone, who's still reading this. Here's the next part of this chapter. I hope you like it, even if I changed a few things from the books. As I was posting this I saw the list of all chapters so far and I realised that I kind of lose track about what happened in which chapter and I have to reread them myself. That's when I wondered what chapter I like most and what's your favourite chapter. So if you want, let me know ;) But now enjoy...**

 **Part V**

Meanwhile Lisa and Miss Avocet have arrived in the Panloopticon and are looking for a fellow ymbryne. Miss Avocet has called her earlier to ask for her assistance.

Soon they find her in a meeting room. After a little talk she's ready to follow them and together they go to the door to the loop in Florida. After her many visits there, Miss Avocet finally knows where she finds the right door. As they arrive there it's already quite late and they hurry through the swamp until they've finally found the loop exit into the present.

Ethan is already there, nervously pacing the wet ground.

"There you are," he says as the three women appear in front of him.

"Yes, sorry, we still had a lot to do but we're ready now," Miss Avocet says and walks over to Ethan to lay her hand on his shoulder. It calms him down a bit, so he can take a deep breath.

"Ok, I'm ready," he says then.

"Good. This is Lisa, she's the ymbryne I train, you probably heard of her," Miss Avocet says and Ethan nods. "Ok and this is Miss Mildred Kingfisher, a befriended ymbryne of Alma and me. She's going to help us. The more ymbrynes the better."

Ethan nods nervously. "But if I understood it correctly you're only two fully trained ymbrynes," he points out.

"That's true," Miss Avocet agrees. "But Lisa is really good, even if she's not fully trained. And Mildred and I are very experienced. Don't worry Ethan."

"Okay," he sighs.

"Good then let's get started. Are you really sure you want to do it? I told you before what we're going to do."

Ethan nods.

"You're performing some kind of ritual, I have to be very open-minded and think of my love to Alma and the children," Ethan repeats everything he remembers from their earlier phone call. "And yes, I'm sure!"

"That's right, Ethan. Just try to be as relaxed as possible and concentrate on what you know about our world."

"But what if I can't do it correctly, what can happen to me?"

"You don't want to know that, Ethan," Miss Avocet tells him. "But if you worry too much we don't have to do it."

"No, we'll do it. As you told me, Alma isn't well and needs me, right?"

Miss Avocet nods. "She's just tired of the pregnancy and all her symptoms and she worries about the future, I think. I mean she doesn't talk to me like that, but believe me, I know her well enough to know what she thinks. It's a hard time for her and it's not a perfect phase for her to go through alone. And I don't mean that she's alone with us but it's not the same. I think she needs your presence to know that you're there and that you two can manage, together, whatever happens."

Again Ethan nods. "I know. Lots of women feel like that in the late stages of pregnancy. I just thought she will be alright with you all, at least for these two weeks."

"Yes, of course. And maybe it would have been alright, hard but alright. If she hadn't come down with the cold. It may not be dangerous but it just made her feel worse and in a way more lonely."

"Let's do it then," Ethan says determined.

The other ymbrynes approach him and together the three women form a circle around him.

Ethan doesn't know exactly what happens but he just concentrates on what Miss Avocet told him. Everything he knows about the peculiar world, all the crazy gifts, the children have been born with, the way it looks when Alma transforms into a bird, her beauty as a woman as well as a falcon and then his love for this amazing and special woman.

The three ymbrynes walk around Ethan, reciting an old language he doesn't know. Miss Avocet says something that the others repeat, then they hold hands and come closer to Ethan.

Finally they stop talking and release Ethan from the circle. He doesn't notice it immediately as he's still thinking about the fun things he experienced with the children so far.

"We're ready, Ethan!" Miss Avocet rips him out of his thoughts. Surprised Ethan looks up at her.

"And now?" he asks.

"Now, we're taking you with us," Miss Avocet says joyfully, to lighten his mood.

"What we just did will help you, it tried to open your mind further, the hardest part for normals is to cope with the paradoxes of a loop. Everything it contains, our peculiar essentials and the basic idea of time travel, for normals, who haven't got a second soul it's usually too much. But not for everyone. I know if someone can do it, it's you. Except for a short moment, you never doubted Alma and your love. It took you just a short time to understand and accept our peculiar life. Frankly, I don't worry about you, even if there might be the slightest risk."

"Alright," Ethan says and takes a deep breath. "I'm ready."

"Good. Then come with us and think of the same things as before."

Ethan follows Miss Avocet, while Lisa and Miss Kingfisher walk behind him. Together they walk through the crooked tree and Ethan can feel something happening around him. Intently he focuses on what he's supposed to do and keeps walking. Then as they have left the tree and the rocks behind them, he recognizes the swamp but it's on a different day, much brighter and the air seems more clean and fresh.

The ymbrynes stop walking and Ethan nearly bumps into Miss Avocet. As they stand there for a while Ethan starts feeling strange. The ymbrynes watch him closely and Miss Avocet keeps talking to him.

"Think of everything I told you, remember how you feel about Alma and the children!"

Ethan tries to concentrate on that as his whole body starts tingling. Then he feels a very strong pain forming in his head. Immediately his hands shoot up to his temples and Miss Avocet's expression changes into worry.

As he instinctively bends down she touches his shoulder and tries to reassure him. "Don't try to fight the pain, Ethan. Let it in and keep thinking about everything."

Like that they stand there a bit until Ethan feels slightly better. He raises himself and looks up at Miss Avocet.

"Is it over?" he asks her, desperate for the feeling to stop again.

"Partly," Miss Avocet answers. "The fact that you're alright and talking to us means that you survived everything perfectly. Only the tingly feeling and the headache will stay, I'm afraid."

Ethan nods understandingly. If this is the only thing he has to complain about, it seems that he's lucky. From what Miss Avocet has said earlier, something a lot more serious could have happened to him.

"Are you alright to keep walking?" Miss Avocet asks and Ethan nods carefully as every movement makes the headache worse.

Together with the ymbrynes he walks through this other side of the swamp until they arrive in a strange room, with one open side towards the swamp. The rest has a funny wallpaper and a wooden door.

Ethan follows the ymbrynes through the door and they arrive on the corridor of an old building with partly wooden walls.

 _This must be the strange house, the children have told him about, that with the weird name. But it makes sense as Alma has told him, that they will use it to get to Blackpool._

Other peculiars pass them on their way through the building. One can say that it's really crowded and it's just logical when this place connects the whole peculiar world.

Some of them seem busy and hurry to get to another loop. Others seem to have more time but they nearly all greet the older ymbrynes.

While doing his best to keep up with the women, Ethan has to massage his temples again, as his headache has intensified once more.

Then they arrive at a door with a sign saying _'Miss Avocet: Blackpool - 16.07.17'_. After entering through the door, Ethan finds a similar room to the one they arrived in. But this one leads through a stony cage into a little bright forest, from where he can see out onto some sunny fields.

So fascinated by everything he's experiencing, Ethan jumps as Miss Avocet touches his shoulder again.

"How are you feeling?" she asks.

"I have quite a throbbing headache and I feel dizzy too," Ethan informs her. "And I kind of feel strange, like I have troubles thinking clearly. I mean my brain seems to think slower than usual."

"I see," Miss Avocet answers thoughtfully. "But that's alright. You have survived the hardest part and that brilliantly and without any major complications, if I may say so. Your body just needs time to adapt to this world now. It will take some time but you'll be fine."

Ethan nods relieved. Then they walk out of the forest, over a few fields.

 _This is really Blackpool._

Ethan has been here before, for a doctor's conference in the city not here in the suburbs, though. But it was still a trip to another continent. It has taken him nearly one day. Going to the airport in time and then the 10 hours flight. And this time?! Ok, he had to drive the two hours first but then it only took them five minutes and they were here.

 _Just amazing!_

Only another few minutes later, they arrive in the street of the little housing estate and head straight for the huge building with a tower.

Immediately Ethan can see that this must be the house of an ymbryne. The garden looks well-tended and there are lots of toys lying around and in front of the door are two strollers.

Entering the beautiful building, the ymbrynes and Ethan only get to take off their shoes before all the children come storming towards them.

"Ethan?" Enoch says unbelievingly.

"Is that really you?" Emma wants to know, still confused from talking to the loop version of Ethan.

"Are you peculiar now?" Claire wants to know and Ethan laughs while shaking his head.

"This can't be!" Emma says again.

"How can you enter a loop then?" Bronwyn asks confused.

"You should have gone mad, you don't have a second soul," Millard insists.

The ymbrynes laugh.

"Not so many questions at once, children," Miss Avocet stops them.

"And please don't be so loud, Ethan is not feeling his best at the moment, that comes with entering a loop like this," Miss Avocet explains.

"We will answer all your questions later but for now we'll have a patient to see," she adds and winks at Ethan before they leave the puzzled children standing in the corridor and walk up the stairs.

Carefully, Miss Avocet knocks at Miss Peregrine's door and as they hear her husky voice they step inside.

Miss Peregrine, who had been lying with her back towards the door, turns with quite an effort. She has been asleep and it takes some while until she opens her eyes and sees clearly enough. She blinks a few times as if she doesn't believe what she sees.

Suddenly she's fully awake and sits up with an energy, none of them would have expected.

"You didn't!" she accuses angrily and glares at Miss Avocet, who's hiding behind Ethan, already knowing what to expect.

To Ethan this side of Alma is new, though. He has never seen her this angry, as she's always strict but loving and caring at the same time.

Now he is torn between his worry about seeing her in not the best of health and the new expression she wears, which can be best compared to that of a falcon, who's protecting its offspring from an attacker.

"I told you that under no circumstances would I want you doing that!" she clarifies, getting louder, even though all of them can hear that it's not good for her voice and that she's provoking a coughing fit.

She gives Miss Avocet one last glare before she looks at Ethan and her expression softens immediately, her eyes showing how worried she is.

"Ethan," she says, now in her gentle voice again, which is showing how her vocal cords have suffered from her outburst.

"Are you alright?" she asks.

Ethan laughs.

"That should be my question."

Miss Peregrine frowns. "Believe me, how I feel is nothing compared to what could have happened to you."

She reaches out her hand, so that Ethan takes it and sits down on the edge of the bed.

"So how are you? You look pale," Miss Peregrine asks again.

"Maybe, but not less than you," Ethan tries to divert the attention from himself once more. But Alma doesn't fall for it. Her eyes narrow again, nearly as much as at Miss Avocet earlier.

"I'm fine," Ethan comes around. "Really! Just a small headache is left and the dizziness and everything else has subsided. I think I just feel overwhelmed now."

"You could say that," Alma sighs, thinking about what 'overwhelmed' looked like for other normals, who were forced into a loop.

"So now it's your turn," Ethan insists. "How are you feeling? I heard you're having a hard time and now you're sick, too."

Miss Peregrine nods and then tells him all about her symptoms, before Ethan examines her himself.

"Your throat is slightly reddened but you don't have a fever and apart from your cough and the runny nose, I can't find anything, so that's good."

"That's what I said," Miss Peregrine retorts. "It's just a cold, no need for you to risk your life."

"That bad?" Ethan asks, for the first time realizing what has been at stake.

Suddenly Miss Peregrine is overwhelmed by emotions. All her worries from the last days, combined with her discomforts from the pregnancy and the cold as well as the realization what could have happened to Ethan are hitting her at once.

As she looks into Ethan's blue eyes, she can't stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks which soon makes her burst into a coughing fit as well.

Ethan takes her into his arms. He finally sees what Miss Avocet had been talking about and he knows that it was right to come here as his loved one needs him.

In tears and still coughing, Miss Peregrine explains to Ethan what could have happened to him and what made her disapprove of the idea.

Miss Avocet and Lisa have long left to give the couple their privacy, so Ethan just stays like that and comforts her until Alma calms down a bit and they both get very uncomfortable in their position.

In Ethan's arms Miss Peregrine feels finally less lonely again and as she's so exhausted she drifts off to sleep as soon as Ethan has shifted so that they can both lie in the bed, arm in arm.

Also Ethan feels very tired all of a sudden and is happy to sleep a bit, too.

Downstairs, Miss Avocet has explained to the children what happened. That it is in fact possible to get Non-Peculiars into loops but that it doesn't work with everyone.

"Some people are just too narrow-minded and their body can't cope which is why they lose their mind in the end. This must have been the fault Caul did all these years ago, he choose the first normal he could get. And the second thing: he abducted only one and even inexperienced ymbryne who had no idea what she was doing."

The children are amazed and can't believe that this is really possible and that they never heard of it.

"It has secretly been tried 2 or 3 times. But only ymbrynes know this secret and that's how it's supposed to stay," Miss Avocet warns them.

"Does that mean that you're going to wipe our memories now?" Hugh asks shocked.

"No, of course not," Miss Avocet laughs before she gets serious again. "But we trust you not to say anything to others. And you must understand that we can't do this for everyone. Then all Peculiars would come and want us to bring Non-Peculiars of their family into loops. It was an exception to help Miss Peregrine and every ymbryne of our council had to agree, which they gladly did as Alma has already done a lot for every single one of them."

The children nod understandingly, even if a few younger ones, like Ayla and Harper would love the idea of doing the same with their parents.

"Miss Avocet? Will Ethan loose his ability to enter loops again after he leaves us here?" Hugh wants to know.

"No, Ethan's body is now used to it. He may have to visit us or another loop a few times more to train it and to reduce the side effects. But he can now enter loops like any of us now."

The children start beaming.

"That's wonderful!" Olive exclaims, thinking about the conversation, Emma and her had with Miss Peregrine on that subject.

"Now we're a real family," Fiona cheers.

"Yes, you are!" Miss Avocet answers smiling at the children. She is just really happy for Miss Peregrine, that she was so lucky and has now what no other ymbryne ever had.

The rest of the afternoon Ethan and Miss Peregrine stay in bed.

They all decided that it's best if Ethan stays for the night - to give Ethan's body more time to adapt and as it will be good for Miss Peregrine to have him around.

After the ymbrynes have cooked dinner with all the children, Miss Avocet gets the couple from upstairs. Miss Peregrine already feels a bit better from sleeping the whole day and for the first time in days she even feels slightly hungry.

As soon as they enter the living room, the children are all over Ethan.

They tell him everything they think he should know about loops and particularly this one. They also want to know how Ethan feels about everything.

"How did it feel when you entered the first loop?" asks Millard curiously so Ethan tells them about every little detail.

After dinner, the children want to show Ethan as much of the loop as possible and go for a little walk outside, where they also meet a few other Non-Peculiars.

To be honest, Ethan is pretty shocked to see that there are people on this world who are prisoners in time and have to relive one day over and over again, without knowing it. Images of sorrow and tragedy come into his mind. What if these people are living a nightmare every day, getting sick or hurt, losing a loved one or just having a bad day in general. But he also has to think about how it would be when you could live your happiest day for the rest of your life.

Inside the old fire station, Lisa is just reading for the toddlers and sings songs with them before they fall asleep.

Miss Avocet has made another hot drink for Alma and joins her on the couch.

"You look better already," she says smiling.

"I feel better, too," Miss Peregrine answers relieved. "Thank you for your care!"

Miss Peregrine leans forward to put her cup of tea onto the little table, then she leans back and looks at Miss Avocet.

"I still don't like what you risked with getting Ethan here and that you did it without my agreement. But you were right, I needed Ethan," she says smiling shyly.

"I would have never done it if I wouldn't have been sure that he can do it," Miss Avocet points out.

"I know. And I will be forever grateful that you took the risk and made it possible for us to live a whole new life as a family. I would have never taken that step, I was too afraid. But Ethan feeling excluded might have destroyed our family one day, too.

"I don't think so Alma but luckily we don't have to think about that again."

Miss Peregrine smiles and takes back her cup to sip at it. Her hand caresses her baby bump where the child is currently kicking and she realizes that she's the happiest she has been for weeks.

The rest of the weekend they all spend a happy time with Ethan.

Miss Avocet is caring for them all, so that also Ethan can have a bit of a holiday and can relax after the stressful week.

Sitting on the couch with some cake, coffee, tea and hot chocolate, he tells everyone that he worked a lot last week. Luckily the evening classes weren't as time consuming as he thought and because he also lives in his house again, as Jake's parents are back at theirs now, he even got a lot of work done there as well.

Everything is nearly ready and he just needs to bring all the furniture for the children into the rooms where he made the floors. Then everything will be ready for their return on Friday.

Miss Peregrine is relieved that they managed everything and even without too much stress they can now move into their new home.

The children are really excited, too. They remember for the first time since their holidays started, that they will return to their new house on Friday.

Ethan leaves on Sunday evening. Miss Avocet and Miss Peregrine accompany him to Florida. Alma wanted to use the opportunity to go into the present for the second time today.

The others rather wanted her to stay at the fire station and use the loop exit there as she still hasn't fully recovered from her cold and it is quite a walk over the fields and through the Panloopticon as well as the swamp.

But Miss Peregrine wanted this time with Ethan and say goodbye to him where he's really driving off, it just felt right, rather than saying goodbye in the house. And besides she wanted to be with him when he steps back into the present, just to be sure that he's safe.

But everything ends fine and also Miss Peregrine doesn't complain about too much pain and cramps.

The next week they all spend some even more relaxed days. The children are still playing happily with Miss Avocet's wards but they are now less excited about the loop and everything that's different here.

The teenagers also get to spend more time on their own, finally having a real holiday without helping or taking care of the other children.

For Miss Peregrine it is getting easier as well. From day to day she feels better until nearly all the symptoms of the cold have subsided. She just needs to cough a few times but also that is improving.

Miss Avocet pampers her and the children as much as possible, so that they can spend a few last carefree days here before they return to their new home where all their daily chores wait again and even more stress with all the preparations for the arrival of the baby.

By the end of the week all of Miss Avocet's wards have gotten used to their visitors and are really sad that they will leave again soon.

Haven't been too excited about it in the beginning as they only just came to live with Miss Avocet themselves, they weren't like Miss Peregrine's children, always looking forward to new visitors, bored of their daily life in the loop alone. But now they know that it can get quite dull when it's just them one day after another.

Luckily they have the Panloopticon, though and can visit each other again soon.

Especially Arlo looks forward to seeing Fiona again. He still hasn't dared to talk to her as she didn't show any interest in him and also Hugh's protectiveness kind of intimidated him. So he contented himself with just spending time around Fiona and she was very friendly, so he didn't get the impression that she doesn't like him.

Miss Peregrine, Emma and Olive will really miss the three toddlers as they have spend a lot of time with them. But again they can still visit them another time and as they don't age forward anyway it doesn't change much. Besides, very soon they will have another little human being living with them and keeping them busy.

Thursday evening they have one last big meal all together. Everyone is very talkative and even if they have to say goodbye the next day, it's a wonderful atmosphere. After a very delicious dessert they watch another movie together. As Miss Avocet's wards have insisted to see Horace's dreams again they also do that. Excitedly Karen and Arlo remember that nearly everything from Horace's last presentation came true.

This time it's not so interesting, though. Most of his dreams have been about clothes and then there were a few scenes about the new house, their rooms, the garden, and a little crying baby. But it wasn't clearly enough, so that none of them could see how their new sibling will look like.

On Friday morning the children are supposed to pack their suitcases before they can go play outside one last time.

Miss Peregrine helps them and walks around the whole house to search the corners in which her children might have left some of their belongings.

As she's finally sure that they've packed everything, they all eat something small for lunch before Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet set off to pick up Ethan in front of the loop entrance in Florida.

He wanted to pick them all up and he also has to spend a bit time in the loop again to refresh his new ability.

At the entrance the two ymbrynes meet Ethan who's already slightly nervous as he paces the area.

But as soon as Miss Peregrine has greeted him with a kiss he has forgotten about it and is just happy to get his family back home. Also for him it has been a really hard, stressful and lonely week.

Hesitantly he follows them through the loop entrance and back into the Panloopticon, Miss Peregrine holding his hand the whole time.

Again his body starts feeling a bit strange but it's less than last time.

On their way through the Panloopticon and then into Miss Avocet's loop, Miss Peregrine glances at Ethan worriedly but as he's fine he just nods at her and gently squeezes her hand. Just before they arrive at the front door of the fire station Ethan feels his headache coming on again. But it's just a mild discomfort and he can ignore the feeling pretty well.

He greets the children and then sits down on the couch with them. Miss Avocet and Lisa have baked a cake for the occasion, so with Miss Peregrine they start serving a piece to each of them.

Together they enjoy the last moment together and Miss Avocet's children have lots of questions about their life in the present in America.

"Can we visit them as well?" Harper asks joyfully and also Karen and Arlo cheer.

"We'll have to think about that," Miss Avocet answers thoughtfully.

"And can we come here again soon?" Bronwyn begs Miss Peregrine, who smiles at her girl's enthusiasm.

"Of course you can come again," Miss Avocet assures her.

"But Alma, I suggest that you create a loop of your own as soon as you feel up to it again."

Miss Peregrine frowns at the older ymbryne as she doesn't see the point as they have their life in the present now.

"I don't mean that you should live in it, too," Miss Avocet adds quickly, smiling at Miss Peregrine's confusion.

"But we could connect it to the Panloopticon, then it will be so much easier to visit each other and also the children could go on their own when we're busy."

All the children start cheering at the idea and also Miss Peregrine has to smile again.

"That's a really good idea," she says. "But I don't know when I will get to do that. Until now I still haven't thought much about the time after the birth, at least not about things that don't concern the child. I mean, I still have to think about my transformations again. I don't even know what I should try first, transforming or creating a loop," Miss Peregrine sighs.

Miss Avocet places her hand on Alma's lap and squeezes her thigh gently.

"Don't worry, dear. I will help you. I'll come to see you after the birth anyway as I promised to help you and as soon as you feel up to it I will help you transform and I can also assist you with creating your loop," she offers.

Miss Peregrine nods gratefully and also Ethan is relieved to know that Miss Avocet will be there for Alma. Not ever again does he want to see her like when she accidentally transformed in front of his eyes and had one seizure after another. This time it will surely be easier for her as Miss Avocet knows exactly what to do.

They all finish their cake and hot drinks before Lisa puts away all their plates and mugs and the children and Ethan get all their suitcases.

At the front door all of them say goodbye to Miss Avocet, Lisa and their children. Arlo even gathered all his courage and places a tiny kiss on Fiona's cheek, who turns bright red but smiles nonetheless.

Ethan and Lisa lift up the toddlers so that Miss Peregrine can embrace them and doesn't have to bend down or kneel.

Then the first children go out onto the street, pulling their suitcases after them. Miss Avocet follows the two adults and as they reach to corner of the street they all turn around and wave one last time at the others, still standing in the door of the old fire station.

Miss Avocet accompanies them to the Panloopticon, where she has to deal with something anyway. In front of the door to the Floridian loop, she says goodbye to all the children and then turns to Ethan and Alma. She hugs both of them tightly.

"Just call when you need my help, alright?"

Both of them nod. Miss Avocet turns to Ethan.

"Ethan, you will do that, ok? Even if Alma doesn't want you. As soon as you see the need. You know my number."

Ethan nods laughing. "I will, Esmeralda."

Miss Peregrine rolls her eyes but she knows that both of them only want the best for her.

Then they enter the room where the children are already waiting for them. Miss Avocet still stands in the doorway, waving.

"We will probably talk until then anyway but if not, let me know as soon as you have the child, Alma," she insists.

Laughing, Miss Peregrine nods before they start walking through the swamp and Miss Avocet disappears into the distance.

Back at the little parking space, Ethan loads the suitcases into the car and everyone takes his seat. The car still smells new and everything is so clean but that will surely change soon enough.

On their way back home Ethan turns the music up so that the children can have some fun. Some of them fall asleep though as they are a bit tired from talking to the other children for half of the night.

Smiling Miss Peregrine leans back into her seat. It have been a few great days at Miss Avocet's, even if she had to get used to it first.

But now they are moving into their new home and soon she will have her first own child, with the man she loves. With these thoughts she drifts off as well and only wakes up as Ethan stops the car in front of Sandra's house to drop off Ayla.

Also she has had a lot of fun the last two weeks and has learned a lot but at the same time she has missed her family a lot and is more than happy as they embrace her into a huge group hug. From the front door, Sandra waves at Alma who has just opened her eyes. Then she turns back to her family and Ethan gets back into the car and they drive up the hill - their new way home.


	68. Chapter 30 Part I

**Hi everyone, thanks for the great reviews.**

 **Also for the ones suggesting the idea with Fiona. I'm not sure, though if I will be able to make a good story out of it. But I'll definitely keep it in mind for later and I especially liked the part with Arlo.**

 **To the rest of you, thank you for still reading my story and sorry for all the mistakes you might find. I always read the chapters again before uploading them but when I read old chapters I find so many mistakes, where I've confused words or even names. I think 'then' and 'than' or 'Ethan' and 'Enoch' get confused a few times and also when writing a lot about Miss Avocet I'm not sure if I haven't written 'Miss Peregrine' a few times just by force of habit... So thanks for putting up with that...**

 **At the moment I'm a bit lazy and don't write much as I'm in a phase where I like reading other fanfictions more, especially as there have been a few new ones lately but I will try to write as much as I can.**

 **For now have fun with the next part and if you like, let me know what you think ;)**

 **Chapter 30**

 **Part I**

As Ethan pulls into his driveway, all the children get excited and wake up the last of them who have still been asleep. Even before the car stops completely, they open the door and jump outside. Shocked, Miss Peregrine turns around and wants to reprimand them but at seeing their smiles, she has to laugh. And the car has really nearly stopped, so it wasn't that dangerous after all.

Slowly she gets out of the car as well and follows Ethan. He takes two of their suitcases with him up to the house. The younger children have already run up the little hill and only the teenagers are left to carry the rest of their luggage.

"Don't worry, we'll get the rest later," Ethan tells them as Enoch tries to grab a third one as each of them are already carrying two.

At the front door, the children are already waiting for them, bouncing up and down in anticipation. Of course they've already seen the house before but not their finished rooms.

To tease them, Ethan starts a small conversation with Miss Peregrine before turning the key very slowly. Alma and the teenagers have to laugh and the others stick out their tongues at Ethan or tickle him so he hurries up.

As soon as he has opened the door wide enough, the younger ones stream inside and run through the living room, around the kitchen and up the stairs to their rooms, exploring every corner of their new home.

The teenagers leave the suitcases in the area behind the front door and follow them. Ethan sends Alma to sit down on one of the huge couches they have bought and puts the kettle on before carrying the suitcases upstairs to the children and getting the rest out of the car.

Miss Peregrine leans back into the cushions and looks around. This place has really changed since she has been here the first time.

Here downstairs, it's mainly one big room. There's the small area before the front door with a new coatrack on the wall and a shoe cabinet, with enough space for all their shoes and jackets. From there you enter the big living room. On the opposite wall are mainly huge windows and a glass door, leading to the terrace behind the house. In front of the windows on the left side is the area with the couches, a little table, Ethan's huge TV and also a fire place. In the left corner of the room a little bit separated by the fire place, is Ethan's study, containing a desk, some bookshelves and shelves with folders from his work and medical books.

It has always been there and it was alright as he lived in the house alone. Now it could become a problem when he wants to work and the children are running around in the living room. But there wasn't any space left upstairs, so he had no other choice. Maybe he will put up a new wall to really separate the study from the living room but he will have to see about that later.

The right side of the room is an open kitchen and in front of it, between kitchen and living room is a new and very long dining table.

Miss Peregrine has to smile when looking at it. This kitchen is really modern with everything you need to cook some perfect meals. The cabinets are white and make the room bright but still comfortable.

There are just two other small rooms on this floor. One little bathroom, that Ethan has used for guests before and a new slightly bigger bathroom with a bath tub, a shower and lots of space for all the children's things. It used to be a storeroom as Ethan lived here alone and he had his bathroom upstairs but now they had to rearrange a few things.

As the water is boiling, Alma wants to get up to make some tea for herself and Ethan but he's already coming back.

"You stay where you are," he laughs. "Just because you're back here, it doesn't mean that you have to work again. I'm here and I will do everything, just like Esmeralda did in her house. So don't worry about anything and let me pamper you."

Miss Peregrine smiles.

"That's sweet of you," she answers. "But I can still get something to drink or go to the bathroom myself, right?"

Ethan rolls his eyes but chooses not to answer. Instead he walks to the worktop and prepares their tea before sitting down next to Alma.

"What about the children? Are they happy with the results?" Miss Peregrine asks after carefully sipping at the hot drink.

"They are inspecting every room and I think they're happy," Ethan says smiling.

"Good. Then I will have to take a look myself as well and see what you did since the last time," Alma concludes.

"Yes, you should do that," Ethan agrees but leans back and takes his mug in his hands.

"But first we finish our tea and enjoy our time alone. It's not very often that all the children are busy and we have time for ourselves."

"True," Miss Peregrine says. "And soon it will be nearly impossible."

Ethan nods smiling and then puts down his mug again to place his hand on Alma's baby bump. Gently he strokes the area next to her bellybutton, where he can feel the baby's feet.

But before they can talk some more, the children's laughter gets louder and some of them run down the stairs to get their ymbryne.

"Miss P! Come and have a look at all our new rooms," Bronwyn shouts and Claire and the twins are already at the couches, pulling Miss Peregrine up from her sitting position.

Together with Ethan, she follows them up the stairs and arrives in the small corridor from where you can enter all their bedrooms. On the left side are the rooms of Fiona, Jake and Emma, Horace and Olive and Enoch. On the right side, Claire's and Bronwyn's, Millard's and Hugh's, the room of the twins and Miss Peregrine's and Ethan's bedroom.

All the children want Miss Peregrine to see their rooms first, therefore she decides to go see them one by one, starting with Fiona's which is the nearest.

Of course Miss Peregrine has been here as they all chose their rooms but since then, the boys and Ethan have finished the floors, the wallpapers and have assembled the new furniture as well as the things they took with them from the house of Jake's parents.

Therefore the change of the rooms is amazing.

And Miss Peregrine has to say, that Ethan did brilliantly. The rooms look nearly like on the paintings of the children.

Fiona's room is very friendly with mostly white furniture, a wallpaper with flowers in it and lots of plants. Some of them have already been here or they took them from Fiona's old room but Ethan has also bought a few new flower pots in which Fiona has already grown some new plants.

Proudly she presents them to her ymbryne before they walk to the next room.

The rooms of the couples look nicely arranged. As all the others they are still quite empty and simple, as they haven't had time to put all their belongings inside. On top of that Emma and Olive still haven't decided on the decoration for their rooms.

Horace's room is also very simple, just the light grey wallpaper, his bed, a wardrobe and a little desk are inside.

Then they also take a look at the rooms on the other side of the corridor. The room of the twins looks amazing, really magical. As wished, Ethan has organized a wooden floor and a huge blackboard on which the girls have drawn little animals and plants, making it look like a jungle.

The shelves on the walls are out of natural wood. On the one side of the room is a desk next to a tiny wardrobe, but the twins don't have so many clothes anyway. In the middle of the room is the best part though and Miss Peregrine is amazed by the result. Ethan has really managed to build their swing bed. It looks so cosy and special and Miss Peregrine would like to lie down on it immediately.

Happily the twins jump on it and start swinging a bit and also Claire and Bronwyn follow them and climb on it.

"Careful, children," Miss Peregrine laughs. "It's still a bed and not something to play on. I'm sure it's not built to put up with that much."

Reluctantly the children stop and climb down again while Ethan laughs.

"Alma is right but it's fine. I tried to make it as robust as possible," he says.

After also seeing Millard's and Hugh's room, which is as simple as Horace's, they arrive in the room of Claire and Bronwyn.

It looks so much different from the one of the twins but not less magical. They have the old furniture from their old home but new colourful rugs and their play area with so many fabrics on the wall and the ceiling.

Beaming, Claire and Bronwyn show Miss Peregrine around and inside their little 'tent' where they have already placed some of their dolls, which they have gotten from the moving boxes in the corridor.

Miss Peregrine shakes her head. Ethan has really done a lot. Not only has he renovated the whole house with the boys, he has also finished it on his own, built up all the furniture during the last two weeks, has brought their belongings here and even decorated the place like the children wanted it to.

Exiting the last of the children's rooms, Miss Peregrine hugs Ethan and places a kiss on his cheek.

"You're just amazing!" she says smiling.

The other children have already gone back into their rooms and start unpacking the boxes and their suitcases. Only the teenagers are still in the corridor.

"So are you," Ethan answers. "But we're not done yet."

Miss Peregrine frowns at him. There aren't any more rooms here. They have seen all the rooms downstairs and all the ones of the children as well. The only other room is theirs, which has been Ethan's bedroom before. And as he already had a huge bed and wardrobe, there wasn't anything to change for when she moves in.

"Come on, take a look," Ethan suggests and moves over to the last closed door.

Still frowning Miss Peregrine follows him and opens the door. At first she doesn't see anything new. There's the small entrance area between the wall and their wardrobe, leading to the big bed facing the glass front with the door to the little roofed balcony with the outdoor couch.

But then as they arrive in the bigger part of the room, she can see it.

"Ethan!" she exclaims happily but can't say anything else, as she's so surprised.

In the other corner of the room, Ethan has built up a little bed for their child, a little wardrobe and a changing table in front of the window. It's the furniture, she has seen in the shop and loved immediately. Then Miss Peregrine sees the little mobile and can't control her emotions anymore.

The teenagers who wanted to see her reaction stand behind her and Ethan, happy about their result.

"This is wonderful!" Miss Peregrine says eventually, her eyes already filled with tears again.

"When did you do that? I don't know what to say. You're just so perfect," she adds and hugs Ethan tightly.

"It wasn't just me," Ethan says. "I had a bit of help."

The teenagers smile at their ymbryne.

"Thank you!" she says. "I thought we still had to go and buy everything but it's all ready. That's fantastic!"

"It's our present for you," Ethan says while he lays his arm around Alma's shoulder. "To say thank you for everything you do, every day. I couldn't wish for a better partner and I'm so proud of you for handling this pregnancy so well."

"Am I?" Miss Peregrine laughs, wiping away a few tears that are threatening to leave her eyes. "I'm an emotional mess and I can't do anything to help you."

"That's not important!" Ethan states. "You're perfect and I know how hard it is for you at the moment. But you don't complain very often and you're still there for all of us."

As Ethan embraces Alma in his arms she can't hold back the tears of joy anymore.

The teenagers have seen enough and leave the couple to themselves.

"Thank you!" Miss Peregrine states again as they part. Her eyes are still shiny from the tears but she's smiling. She's so happy right now and the fact that the child's 'room' is now ready makes her so relieved.

"I love you!" Ethan says and gives Alma a last kiss before they both leave their room.


	69. Chapter 30 Part II

**Chapter 30**

 **Part II**

As the children are all busy in their rooms, both adults go for a walk around the house.

It's a nice and warm evening, different from the weather in Blackpool, but not too hot and humid either.

Miss Peregrine is taking a look at the whole garden. It's really large, with hidden corners everywhere. There's the huge area down the hill with the fire pit, where Ethan held his birthday party. Behind the house is a spacious wooden terrace with some stretchers, exotic flowers and a pool. This one is even bigger than the one at Miss Avocet's - the children will definitely love that.

Sometimes Miss Peregrine wonders why Ethan's house and garden look so spotless all the time. She knows him by now and Ethan would never spend all his free time cleaning the house or pulling weeds. He must have had a gardener and a housecleaner for the last years.

Maybe this will be something she can give him back in exchange. They are now all living with him, giving him less room for himself and on top of it they even cost more. In the house of Jake's parents, Alma could sustain them on her own. They didn't have to pay for living there and the grants that she gets for the children were enough to pay for the rest. But now in this huge house and with the new lifestyle the children have gotten used to since Ethan came into their life it's so much more expensive.

But when they will live here and she can do the household and can help with Fiona in the garden as well, Ethan can at least do without the gardener and housecleaner in the future.

Soon the couple is joined by a few children who want to play outside in the garden. Again they are exploring everything. They play on the grass and in the bushes. This garden is perfect for playing hide and seek and there's also enough space to build up a soccer goal.

The twins, Claire and Bronwyn have also already chosen a tree on which they want to build a new treehouse.

In the late afternoon Jake and his parents arrive in their car. Maryann and Franklin wanted to drop off Jake and the rest of their belongings, that they still found in the house and garden.

They are both invited for dinner at their friends' house. Since their arrival back from their world trip, the couple is living a whole different life. Maryann has started to work again but less than before and also Jake's father has started to write little travelling articles for a magazine. Both their jobs leave lots of free time for themselves though and they have started new activities together as well as spending time with their friends regularly.

After they have left again, Miss Peregrine calls all the children inside. Ethan has had the perfect idea of ordering takeaways again and celebrating their moving in. Of course the children are more than excited about it and help Miss Peregrine setting the table while Ethan goes to pick up their food and buy all the drinks the children have wished for.

As he returns the children are already sitting on their new places at the dining table and wait impatiently.

"Finally!" Hugh exclaims as Ethan approaches to put all the food and drinks on the table. A few of his bees have escaped his mouth while speaking. Some of the children laugh about it while others get annoyed. But since the beehive is still at the old house, Hugh has his bees living inside him again for the moment.

"I would have brought champagne for the occasion but that's obviously still out of the question," Ethan says smiling at Alma.

"Yes and also for the next few months," she laughs.

"True!" Ethan has to admit before he sits down.

Together as a big family, they spend a lovely meal. The children are talking about their plans for their rooms and the house and they're all happy to finally live here with Ethan.

Afterwards the teenagers clean up in the kitchen and the rest gathers in the living room. The three new couches are so big, that they all fit on them perfectly and there's also enough space for Miss Peregrine to lie down.

The children begged them to watch a movie together on Ethan's huge TV. And Ethan has even a few DVD's that they don't know yet. Watching a new interesting and funny movie the children are fascinated by how different it all looks on such a modern device.

Emma is lying in Jake's arms, they're kissing from time to time, catching up on their time together.

And also Enoch and Olive are cuddling next to the younger children on one of the couches.

Miss Peregrine is lying with her head on Ethan's lap while he lets his hand caress her head.

As they see the younger children yawn from time to time and struggling to keep their eyes open, Miss Peregrine decides to bring them upstairs and make them go to bed.

All of them want Miss Peregrine to come into their rooms to say goodnight. They are in a new environment and some of them are even alone in a room at night for the first time. Especially the younger ones don't want to lie down before Miss Peregrine is at their side. But she can't be everywhere at the same time and if she's honest, she just wants to lie down in her own bed and can't imagine running around for longer.

"Is it okay if Ethan goes with some of you, reads a story and says goodnight to you?" she asks her children, who screw up their faces in disappointment.

"I'm a good reader and I will even read two stories if you want to," Ethan says smiling at them.

"Ooookaayy..."Claire says finally and also Bronwyn agrees.

After they've all finished in the bathroom, the girls and teenagers say goodnight to Miss Peregrine and follow Ethan upstairs.

Miss Peregrine sends the rest of them into their rooms and tucks in the twins. They are a bit nervous on their own, without the girls for the first night.

But as soon as they climbed into their new bed and Miss Peregrine has sat down, starting to sway with the bed, they relax. And even before Miss Peregrine has finished with the second page of the book, they are already asleep. Miss Peregrine covers them with their blanket, plants a kiss on both their heads and switches off the lights before leaving their room.

Then she goes into all the other rooms to say goodnight before going downstairs into the bathroom.

Soon also Ethan joins her, finally finished with the third story for Claire and Bronwyn.

"At least they were satisfied with just you at their beds, I guess that means a lot," Miss Peregrine points out.

"I know," Ethan says smiling proudly before they both start brushing their teeth.

"It's a bit annoying after all to go down the stairs every time we want to use the bathroom," Alma says after rinsing her mouth. "Especially at the moment when I have to go so often at night and also for the little ones it's not very good."

Ethan nods. "You're right but you know that there wasn't another possibility."

"I know."

"But if you want, I can accompany you every time at night," Ethan teases Alma, who pokes his side in revenge.

"And I also have put up little lights in the corridor and the staircase as orientation for the children."

"Luckily the stairs aren't too steep and covered with carpets, that should help too," Miss Peregrine thinks aloud and Ethan agrees.

"Exactly," he says while embracing her from behind, resting his head on her right shoulder while she puts her beautiful long her in a plait for the night.

Lovingly his hands caress her baby bump through the fabric of her night gown.

"I'm going to miss that feeling," he whispers in her ear.

"I won't," Miss Peregrine laughs and looks into Ethan's eyes through the mirror in front of her.

Ethan has to laugh as well.

"I'm sure there are things that you'll miss too," he says.

"Of course," Miss Peregrine admits. "But at the same time I can't wait for it to be over."

"I understand that. I'm really looking forward to finally seeing our child as well."

After some more minutes of standing there cuddling, the couple goes back upstairs into their room.

Tiredly, Miss Peregrine falls onto the soft mattress and snuggles up into her cushions.

As Ethan lies down next to her he lets his arm embrace her and she rests her head on his shoulder. Ethan has left on the big light in the room, which confuses Alma but she doesn't care at the moment. It's way too comfortable here like this and it has been so long since she felt this good. Right now, nothing hurts and all her worries seem to have disappeared - she just feels safe in Ethan's arms.

A little while longer, they talk a bit before Ethan kisses her one last time and turns to the side to switch off the light.

Miss Peregrine is slowly closing her eyes to fall asleep, waiting for the room to turn dark. But strangely enough, it doesn't. It has gotten darker, yes, but there's still a weak light in the room, as far as Alma can perceive it through her closed eyes.

Confused she opens them again to find the source but what she sees just confuses her more. The room is dark and there's no lamp still turned on. The light seems to come from the ceiling. Slowly Miss Peregrine turns her head upwards and sees multiple shining objects on the ceiling emanating a weak greenish light.

Inspecting it closer she sees that they are supposed to be little stars, shining at night, probably charged by the light of the big lamp before.

 _Maybe Ethan has put them up for the child. But why this early and why are they above their bed?_

And even if they were above the baby's bed, Alma is not sure if she can sleep like this in the future as they are still pretty bright.

But then she sees that they are arranged to spell something, a sentence. No, a question.

Suddenly Miss Peregrine sits upright in her bed, looking at Ethan in shock, her mouth agape, her eyes wide.

For a short while none of them says a word, they are just looking into each other's eyes.

"And, will you?" Ethan asks teasingly and raises his eyebrows. He's playing self-assured but in reality he's getting pretty nervous. It took Alma some time to decipher his message and that were the hardest seconds for Ethan. And now she's looking at him like that.

 _What if she doesn't want to after all? What if she says no?_

With time, Alma recovers from the initial surprise and she can see the doubts in Ethan's eyes.

Quickly she wants to make up for this first reaction and starts smiling.

"Of course I will marry you!"she exclaims happily and flings her arms around Ethan to hug him tightly before kissing him.

Incredibly relieved Ethan returns the kiss and feels his body relax in her arms. He was even more tense than he thought.

Then he has to laugh about himself. Miss Peregrine pulls back and looks into his eyes.

"Did you really thought I would say no?" she asks frowning at him.

Ethan grins. "Not really, but the insecurity is always there with a question like that, I guess."

"Probably," Alma laughs, glad that she as a woman wouldn't normally have to ask this question.

"But thank you for asking anyway," she jokes which lightens the atmosphere completely.

"I love you," Ethan says and kisses her again. "And you've just made me the happiest man alive."

Miss Peregrine has to laugh about that statement.

"And I'm not less happy," she says while her hand starts caressing Ethan's cheek.

"I couldn't have wished for a better thing to happen to me than meeting you that day. Since then my life has changed completely and so has yours. We've turned your whole life upside down. I know that it hasn't always been easy with me and the children. And I would probably lie when saying that it will be easier in the future. But if you are willing to put up with us for the rest of our lives, it means the world to me," Alma adds, nearly crying for the second time today.

"Oh Alma, of course I will! I have asked you to marry me because I can't imagine a life without you anymore. I don't care how difficult it might get, as long as I'm with you and the children, I feel complete. I love you for who you are and none of your peculiarities bothers me in the slightest. If anything, I'm grateful to get to know this world of yours. And that I can now be part of it, too, means so much to me. I know that you didn't want Esmeralda doing it at first. And I understand why you thought like that, I would have done the same if it could have harmed you but I'm grateful that she took the risk anyway."

"Me, too - now!" Alma says and has to smile about the outcome of Miss Avocet's solo action before she gets serious again.

"You're doing so much for us and I hope we can give it back to you somehow."

"Alma, you are! You're my family and you give me so much! Joy, love and strength. I never thought I'd have a family of my own one day. Maybe a wife or even one child, but for such a big family I'm way too old. And you gave me that! Before, this was just a house but now it's a home to me."

Ethan looks into Alma's eyes. She listens intently and blinks away a few tears to get a clear view of Ethan, who's getting more emotional as well.

"I don't need money or a partner who earns a fortune. I couldn't care less if I have to manage with less money and give up all the luxury if I can have someone who's there for me, who listens and who spends time with the children while I have to work. I hate families who give away their children for the day just to go working. And that's exactly what you do! You're always there for me, no matter how hard it is for you at the moment. Don't you ever feel guilty, Alma! You're giving me everything I need and more. I'm the lucky one to have you, not the other way round! And when our child will be there it will be perfect!"

Miss Peregrine can't hold back the tears anymore, but nonetheless she's beaming at Ethan and nods.

She leans into him as he hugs her while leaning back down into the cushions.

Both of them look up at the ceiling again, just thinking about what just happened.

"Where did you get this idea from?" Miss Peregrine asks interestedly after a while.

"Oh well...that is my secret," Ethan says teasingly and wants to tickle Miss Peregrine but this time she's quick enough and catches his hands in time.

Ethan has to laugh.

"I had a talk with the teenagers and we discussed possible options. But the decision was all mine, the others still don't know what I planned," he says proudly while kissing the area around Alma's left ear and taking in her scent.

"It was a great idea and you accomplished it perfectly. I would have never expected anything like this tonight. But you had me a bit confused as you left on the big light," Miss Peregrine admits, placing Ethan's hands with hers on top on her baby bump.

"It was supposed to be a surprise and I didn't want you to see anything too early."

"I thought as much," Alma states, her voice getting more quiet as she's slowly falling asleep in Ethan's warm arms. It was a long an eventful day and even if she had been very excited just a few minutes ago, her exhaustion is slowly catching up with her again.

One last time Ethan kisses her head before also he closes his eyes.

The light of the little stars is slowly fading and as the room is dark again, the newly engaged couple is already asleep.

The next few days, the children and Miss Peregrine are slowly getting used to their new home. Finding a new rhythm with using the bathrooms or learning what they find in which cupboards.

The children are enjoying their holidays, playing a lot in their new rooms as well as the garden.

Miss Peregrine unpacks the last of their boxes with Ethan and together they spend some quiet days. Finally the relaxed time for them has started as well and except for cooking and getting groceries they don't have to do anything. Usually they do some light housework in the morning but spend the rest of the day relaxing on the couches or going for little walks.

Ethan is happy that he could finish his training and close his office for some weeks. He wanted to be there for Alma in the last weeks before the birth as well as the time afterwards.

As she had been through a very tough time before going to Miss Avocet's he's happy to make it easy for her now. And they also want to make the most of their intimate togetherness before the baby will be there.

Neither of them has told the children about Ethan's proposal yet, they are enjoying this little secret for now but they will soon talk to them.

Regularly Ethan drives Alma to check-ups at Catherine's. She examines Alma and the child to see if everything is still fine, checks the position of the baby, its heart rate and the intensity of Alma's pre labour contractions. But so far everything is alright and Catherine doesn't see any problems and is sure that a normal birth at home is still save.

The children are bonding even more with Ethan as they're living so close together now. More often they come to him for help instead of bothering Miss Peregrine.

Watching them, Miss Peregrine is really proud as Ethan is just great with the children, helping whenever he can, comforting them, when they've gotten hurt or just playing with them.

And after a few days they all live together like a well-practiced family, enjoying their summer holidays.


	70. Chapter 31 Part I

**Hi guys, thanks again for the new reviews!**

 **So, now it's finally time. I hope you like the next chapter. It may be quite long and detailed, so if you're a bit squeamish and don't want to know about the details, you should probably skip this chapter/ the next three parts.**

 **But I really felt that there should be a whole chapter about it as all the ones before led up to this event.**

 **For the ones who choose to continue, enjoy and if you like, let me know what you think ;)**

 **Chapter 31**

 **Part I**

It's 6 o'clock in the morning and everyone is fast asleep in his bed in their new house. Only Miss Peregrine is tossing and turning next to Ethan. Some mild cramps have woken her up a few times during the night but now they are a bit stronger and she's also experiencing a lower back pain which makes it impossible for her to get comfortable enough to fall back asleep.

This has happened a lot lately and Ethan told her that it's completely normal during the night as it's the time when her adrenalin level is lower, so her oxytocin level gets high enough to start the pre-labor contractions. Nonetheless it's uncomfortable and makes her even more tired during the day.

As she decides to get up and walk around a bit Ethan wakes up too.

"What's wrong?" he asks sleepily, his eyes still half closed.

"Just a few cramps, you go back to sleep," she sighs but gives him a smile. From her voice Ethan can hear that she's very uncomfortable, though, so he sits up to look at her properly. He really feels sorry for Alma as she gets barely any sleep at the moment.

"You've nearly made it," he encourages her and points at the spot next to him for her to sit down.

"You survived more than 9 months and in only a few days we will have our baby."

Miss Peregrine has sat down and leans into Ethan who embraces her and kisses her head.

"You seem to forget that it's going to get really worse before we finally have the child," she points out. Ethan gently strokes her arms to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," Miss Peregrine says. "I'm looking forward to that too and I'm happy but right know I can't help but only think about the negative parts."

"I understand that," Ethan says. "What about I'll run you a bath?"

"It's the middle of the night," Miss Peregrine laughs.

"And? If it makes you feel better, I'll do it anywhere and anytime."

Miss Peregrine smiles gratefully. "Thank you," she whispers before getting up to pace again while Ethan goes into the bathroom.

A couple of minutes later he returns with a towel and tells her to undress before he wraps her in it and accompanies her into the bathroom. Unfortunately they have to go downstairs for it as there wasn't any free space left on the first floor for a bathroom when they wanted all of them having their rooms on the same floor .

But Miss Peregrine manages and shortly afterwards Ethan helps her step into the water which has the perfect temperature.

"Do you want to drink a tea or something?" Ethan asks and Miss Peregrine shrugs.

"I don't know, I don't really feel like drinking but maybe it will help."

"Alright," Ethan says and leaves the room. He takes some time and even goes for a little walk outside the house, watching the sun illuminating just a tiny bit of the horizon. He knows that it will take some time for Alma to feel better in the bath and he doesn't want to sit next to her just watching, so he gets some fresh air here.

After a while though he goes back inside and brings her the tea. As he enters the bigger bathroom, she looks at him desperately.

"It's not helping," she sighs. " The cramps don't ease up at all. Is this what labour feels like? Is it really starting now?"

Ethan walks over to her and kneels down, taking her hand in his.

"I don't know, Alma. It's something that you have to feel," he says in his low and calming voice.

"I'm not sure but isn't it too soon?"

"It's fine," Ethan assures her. "There's less than a week until your due date, which is completely alright. The baby is ready now and so are we, okay?"

He lets his hand caress her head and brushes the hair out of her face. Miss Peregrine nods and closes her eyes, leaning back.

"And what are we going to do now?" she asks.

"I'll suggest that you stay here a bit longer. The warmth of the water may not take away the pain but it can still help and I'm going to call Catherine, letting her know what we're thinking is happening."

Again Miss Peregrine nods her agreement and lets Ethan leave her alone. She takes a few sips of her tea before she tries to relax once more. The pain is not too strong yet and the cramps come in waves with long intervals in between but it's a general discomfort with the back pain, her nervousness and everything else.

As Ethan returns again, Miss Peregrine asks him to help her out of the bathtub. The water is not helping at the moment and she feels the need to move. While Ethan is drying her with a towel he tells her what Catherine said.

"From what you were telling me, Catherine thinks that you might indeed be in early labour. But don't worry, there's still a lot of time until it gets serious. She advised that you try to sleep a bit more, you will definitely need the energy and then you shall spend a relaxed morning, drinking enough, also eating something small and just do what you feel like. She will come over after finishing a few things in her office. In her opinion it will be early enough when she comes around lunchtime but shall we need her earlier we can always call."

Miss Peregrine nods while trying to put on a warm pyjama that Ethan has brought with him. Together they go into the living room, where Alma lies down on the couch. As Catherine has advised, she closes her eyes to doze off in between the contractions. They are coming every 20-30 minutes at the moment and are sometimes even so weak that she doesn't wake up from every single one.

Ethan sits with her, leaning back into the couch and tries to close his eyes as well. Also he will need all the energy he can get for today and most likely for the next weeks too.

As Alma wakes up from a more intense contraction again, it's nearly 9 o'clock. Ethan goes into the kitchen and prepares another cup of tea for her, while she's walking around the living room again.

As they sit down to snuggle up to each other, Claire comes downstairs. Still very sleepy she walks to the bathroom, not even noticing the adults sitting on the couch.

Only on her way back she sees the couple cuddling there and as she's still not fully awake, Claire doesn't notice anything and wants to join them.

Seeing no need to rip her out of her half-sleep yet, the adults don't say anything and let her lie down with them. And only after a couple of minutes, Claire has already dozed off again. Ethan and Alma watch her cute sleeping form and lean back themselves.

Soon, Miss Peregrine has to stand up again though and tries not to wake Claire, who's still sprawled out on both their laps. Therefore Ethan stays seated, trying to help Alma by talking to her. She is just sitting down again as Emma makes her way down the stairs.

She hasn't expected anyone else to be awake now. On the weekends they usually sleep until 10 o'clock. Seeing Ethan and Miss Peregrine sitting there, looking like they do, Emma immediately knows that something is different.

"Is it happening?" she asks excitedly, walking towards the couch. Both adults turn around towards her and nod, Ethan smiles, as excited as Emma and Miss Peregrine grimaces as she's feeling another contraction coming on. Luckily they don't last very long at the moment.

Claire stirs a bit but she stays asleep.

"Can I help with something?" Emma keeps asking.

"No, it's fine," Miss Peregrine assures her. "Thank you."

"But maybe you could take care of the children for the day. I'm going to prepare the breakfast soon but I'm not sure about lunch and I don't think we will be available for dinner," Ethan says.

Emma nods understandingly. "Of course!"

Ethan leaves the three girls in the living room and walks over to the kitchen where he prepares some breakfast.

Miss Peregrine and Emma talk for a while, which is a good distraction and soon also the other children come down. Claire has also woken up again and together they're eating breakfast.

Ethan and Miss Peregrine tell the children that today is the day and that they are meeting their new sibling very soon. Of course the children are super excited. The younger ones run cheerfully through the house and also the others can't await the moment.

Miss Peregrine doesn't really feel like eating, so Ethan prepares at least some eggs for her and she drinks another cup of tea before she gets up again and paces the room.

At the moment her contractions come every 15 minutes and last about 30 seconds. So in the time in between, Miss Peregrine tries to spend a relaxed morning with her children. Most of them are still in their pyjamas but as she isn't dressed properly herself, Miss Peregrine doesn't care and allows them to stay like that for once. They are the most comfortable clothes for spending the day on a couch anyway.

The boys have started playing cards on the little table in front of them and Miss Peregrine gladly took the opportunity to distract herself and joined the game.

Claire, Bronwyn and Fiona are watching a movie on TV and the teenage couples are also sitting on the couches, just enjoying each other's company.

First Ethan has sat behind Miss Peregrine and gave her a massage but then he decided to use the time and went upstairs to prepare their bedroom for later.

He has gotten waterproof, protective coverings for the bed and the floor and has also rented a birth pool for Alma. After building it up and filling it with water, he gets lots of towels, blankets and pillows. Then he turns up the radiator to make the room nice and warm and puts some of the towels on it to preheat.

Then Ethan goes and gets all the rest they will need, a bucket, some snacks for Alma, Catherine and him, a little mirror, his doctor's bag and other little things.

In the corner of the room is the bag, he made Alma pack for an emergency, should something go wrong and she needs to go to a hospital after all.

One last time Ethan stops in the doorway and looks around if everything is ready. And as he's sure, he goes back downstairs to join the others.

It's now half past 11. The children are still happy with their games and Alma has gotten up again and walks around the room to keep moving through the contractions.

She looks pale and already tired, which makes Ethan feel sorry for her. It will still be a long time until their child is there and for Alma it will only get a lot harder.

Ethan approaches her from behind as she's just leaning forward onto the table.

"Hey, how you're doing?" he asks in a soft and comforting voice.

"Alright, so far," Miss Peregrine answers and straightens herself as the contraction has finished.

"It's funny," she says. "One moment I'm in quite a lot of pain which makes it now hard to stand without support and in the next second, it's gone and I can keep doing what I wanted to for some minutes before the next one starts."

Ethan smiles compassionately at her. At least she can still joke about it all.

"What about we go for a bit of a walk down the road and back?" he suggests.

"Ok maybe, some fresh air might be good," Alma thinks.

"Yes and a walk is supposed to speed things up a little bit and that can't be bad either," Ethan adds.

"Probably not," Miss Peregrine laughs. "Even if I'm only just coping and I don't really want it to get worse. But I don't have another choice do I?"

"No," Ethan answers before kissing her.

Then he goes and gets a jacket and shoes for Alma before telling the children that they will be back shortly.

Very slowly the couple makes their way down the hill to the street. Alma can't go quicker but at least in between the contractions she doesn't need any support from Ethan. Every now and then they have to stop and she grabs his arm until the contraction has subsided. But then they keep talking and enjoy the sunny day outside.

As they return, the children are still all in the living room. Now it's the boys who watch something on TV and the younger girls and the twins play with their toys on the floor.

Emma and Olive have just gone into the kitchen and prepare something for lunch. There might still be time until they want to eat but what they can do know, is already finished and they don't have anything better to do at the moment anyway.

Miss Peregrine and Ethan join the boys on the couches and Ethan lets Alma lay her head on his lap. The contractions are a bit more regularly and intense but she still tries to get some rest in between.

After she has had to get up again and walk around, the children want to help their ymbryne more and try to distract her.

"Do you want to play with us?" Bronwyn asks and waves with her doll at Miss Peregrine.

"Or you could watch another documentary with us," Millard suggests. Once again he's naked and the others can only see the pair of socks, he's wearing as he doesn't want to have cold feet. But Miss Peregrine doesn't reprimand him this time. First, she's occupied with other thoughts today and second, if the others are allowed to stay in their pyjamas he might as well stay like he's the most comfortable, too.

"Thank you," Miss Peregrine answers and smiles at the children gratefully. "But I think I might just keep walking around a bit."

The children nod understandingly and continue with what they've been doing.

Emma and Olive, who have finished with the lunch preparations ask Miss Peregrine if they can help with something else but again she declines.

"When will Catherine come over?" Emma asks then.

"She said around lunchtime, when she's finished in her office, so that can be any time now," Ethan answers as Alma is once more distracted by another contraction.

Some time later, she gets exhausted again and sits down on the couch, besides it's getting harder and harder to keep walking through the stronger contractions.

Ethan offers her another massage, which she gladly accepts as her back pain has increased as well and she would try anything that can make her relax, even if it's just for a short time.

With her eyes closed she sits on the couch, leaning with her side against its backrest and resting her head on it, while Ethan sits behind her, taking care of her back.

Afterwards, Miss Peregrine lays down again. The twins and Claire have come to join her and are now lying in her arms, careful not to hurt her. They want to comfort their ymbryne as they can see that she's in pain and as a distraction they have asked her to read a story to them.

Miss Peregrine thought it a good idea and agreed so Ethan went upstairs to get the 'Tales of the Peculiar', which Claire has begged for.

Emma and Olive have just made a shopping list for the boys to get groceries later and are now sitting down on the couches next to Miss Peregrine and the little ones.

Even if they are much older, they still like to hear these stories from their ymbryne, it has gotten a kind of ritual over the last years and when listening to her they still feel quite save and at home like when they were little themselves.

Miss Peregrine is half lying on the couch, leaning her back against the cushions and holding the book up in front of her. The twins and Claire sit on both sides and carefully lean against her, to have a good view into the book.

Ethan has taken a seat next to the teenage girls and listens as well. He still don't know all the tales and is quite happy to learn more about this world.

The other children, who are still glued to the TV had to at least turn it down a bit.

A couple of times, Miss Peregrine has to stop reading as it is getting nearly impossible now to keep talking through the contractions. But nonetheless she keeps reading during the breaks.

Suddenly she stops though and looks up at Ethan in shock.

"What is it?" he asks concerned and also the children look at their ymbryne questioningly.

"I think my water just broke," Alma answers with wide eyes but has to laugh at the same time.

"Really?" Ethan asks while the twins and Claire sit up properly to give Miss Peregrine more room to get up.

The other children have heard their conversation as well and are turning around form their places in front of the TV to see what's happening.

"I'm pretty sure that I haven't wet myself, so yes I don't see another possible explanation. And that on the new couch," Miss Peregrine sighs annoyed and tries to stand up.

Ethan comes to help her up. Her pyjama pants are visibly drenched and she still seems to leak more amniotic fluid.

"Don't worry, "Ethan calms her down. "It will be alright, the couch can't have gotten too wet in that short moment, right?"

Ethan looks at Olive and Emma who have gotten up as well and take a look at the spot where their ymbryne has just sat. Also the younger ones look at the small damp area and the twins make some funny noises while Claire starts giggling.

"That is not funny!" Emma wants to reprimand them but has to smile a little bit as well.

"But it's really not much," Olive confirms. "We will clean it up a bit and dry it in no time."

Miss Peregrine nods gratefully at her girls.

"So it's really starting now," she sighs then and looks at Ethan, not really sure if she should feel excited or anxious.

"It is!" Ethan answers smiling happily at her which makes Alma feel at least a little bit more reassured.

"Come on," Ethan adds. "Let's go into the bathroom and get you something new to put on."

Nodding Miss Peregrine takes Ethan's outstretched hand and follows him.

"Do you have to wear a diaper now?" Claire asks giggling before being gently punched by Emma.

But Miss Peregrine isn't angry about the question and smiles at her youngest girl.

"I don't know, Claire. But we'll have to find a solution as I will keep losing more amniotic fluid and I can't just change my pants every 5 minutes."

This makes the younger ones laugh even more, only the boys screw up their faces.

"Too much information," Horace whispers to Millard and Hugh.

"We will find a way," Ethan assures Miss Peregrine before both disappear into the nearest bathroom.

As they return, Emma and Olive have already cleaned and dried the sofa and covered it with a towel, so that it can't happen again.

Miss Peregrine wears a new pair of pyjama pants and walks with another towel underneath between her legs. This is really getting embarrassing in front of her children and she doesn't like that much. But it's nothing compared to the state she will be in later. So luckily the children won't be in the same room then.

Claire and the twins have recovered from their laughing fit so as Miss Peregrine sits down with them again, neither of them says anything.

Alma would like to continue reading but only after a couple of more pages she has to stop as the contractions are now really picking up. It seems that the earlier 'accident' has really sped up things a lot.

Just as Miss Peregrine has started pacing again, the doorbell rings and Emma opens the door to let Catherine in.

She puts the things she has brought with her down next to the door and happily greets all the children before hugging Ethan and then Alma.

They fill her in in everything that has happened so far.

"Since her water broke the contractions have increased a lot and they are now coming every 5 minutes," Ethan reports seriously.

"Alright," Catherine answers nodding while stroking Alma's upper arm as she has just leaned against the small cabinet next to the stairs and waits for another contraction to subside.

"I'd like to examine you and the child then," she says as Miss Peregrine is ready to listen.

"And I've brought a few things with me, Ethan can you help me carry them upstairs and can someone get the rest out of my car?" Catherine asks the children on the other side of the room.

"Of course!" Emma says and makes Hugh and Horace go outside to do it. Millard has only escaped the firm hold she had on the two others as Emma couldn't see his socks, standing in the corner next to the TV.

Jake and Enoch have already left to do the grocery shopping and Emma really thinks that the other boys can help as well.

Reluctantly Hugh and Horace go to Catherine's car and carry another bag and a gymnastic ball back inside the house.

Hugh really loves this toy and starts bouncing with it through the corridor which makes the other children laugh.

"That's not for you, Hugh!" Emma tells him annoyed and grabs the ball to bring it upstairs.

Ethan has just come down again from carrying the first two bags of Catherine upstairs and Catherine still stands next to Miss Peregrine who just wanted to wait for the next contraction before going up the stairs.

"Ok, children, I will see you later then," she says and looks at all the children that are still in the room.

"Good luck!" Fiona says smiling at her ymbryne and also Claire and Bronwyn come to hug her one last time.

"The next time we'll see you, the baby is already there, right?" Claire asks excited and Miss Peregrine nods.

"I think so, yes," she says and pets the heads of her three youngest.

"So we're now upstairs but if anything happens you can always come, ok? And please be good and listen to what Emma and Olive say, alright?"

The children nod and Miss Peregrine deliberately looks into Millard's direction to make him understand that he's included even if they can't see his face and nod.

"Good," Miss Peregrine says and smiles at all of them one last time before turning around and letting Ethan and Catherine help her.

On their way they meet Emma who's just walking back down.

"If you need anything, just let us know," she offers to the three adults who nod at her gratefully.

"Thank you!" Miss Peregrine says and squeezes Emma's shoulder before going past her, hurrying to reach her room before the next contraction will come.

Downstairs Emma has just called Miss Avocet to let her know about everything and then decides to take all the children outside to play in the garden and do something sensible instead of lying in front of the TV all day. She sends their siblings upstairs to go change their clothes, knowing that now is a good time to do so, as she doesn't want all of them going upstairs when the birth has progressed even more. Then they all leave through the terrace door into a sunny summer's day, enjoying their day and not knowing about the things that happen upstairs.


	71. Chapter 31 Part II

**For everybody, who's waiting for the next part, here it is. So again, I tried to write this chapter as authentic as possible, which means including all the details, how unpleasant they might be while still avoiding to make it just repellent.**

 **For the ones who still keep reading it - enjoy! )**

 **Chapter 31**

 **Part II**

In Ethan's bedroom, Miss Peregrine is surprised to see everything that Ethan has already prepared, the room looks so different now. The big birth pool occupies nearly all of the free space and there are coverings everywhere.

For now, Miss Peregrine decides to lie down on their bed so that Catherine can examine her properly.

After unpacking all her things, Catherine attaches Alma to her little machines to monitor the child's heart rate and her contractions before checking how much she's dilated yet.

"And?" Ethan wants to know as he's just sitting down next to Alma holding her hand and letting his thumb caress it.

"She's at 3.5 cm now which is approximately as I have expected it," Catherine answers satisfied and stands up.

"Her contractions are good for that stage and the child seems fine." She smiles at the couple in front of her.

Catherine really loves this part of her job. Working in the hospital she used to do more births than now. It had been a hard time but at the same time she knew that she did something meaningful in the end of the day.

Now with her own office it's different. Of course it's also nice to accompany the women throughout the whole pregnancy or sometimes even helping them to get pregnant but helping them during a birth has gotten very rare. Therefore she's especially happy to do it now for her two best friends.

Ethan smiles back at her. He's also really excited but at the same time slightly nervous. He's just glad that this is not the first birth he sees and that all this medical stuff isn't new to him. Nonetheless it's still different when it's his own partner and child and he can understand why other fathers must feel so helpless.

Only Miss Peregrine looks quite anxious. This is all so new to her and the excitement about the arrival of their child is overshadowed be her fear of the unknown. The pain is still bearable although the continuity over so many hours does make it worse than it actually is. But Miss Peregrine has never been sensitive to pain. She has endured so much in her long live and has learned to cope with it.

This time it's different, though. It's not just her and the pain until it's over, this time there's the baby as well and that mental pressure is immense. What Miss Peregrine fears the most are the possible complications and she's afraid that she might do something wrong and harm the child in the process.

But so far everything is alright and she tries to keep calm and take one contraction after another. And Catherine is great. She's so experienced and does everything without thinking about it while still talking and joking with Alma and Ethan in between contractions. This lightens the mood immensely and makes it a lot easier for Miss Peregrine.

After Catherine has finished with the examination, she helps Alma into a dressing gown, that she has brought as well. It's the same as other women in the hospital wear and will be easier for the birth later than Alma's normal clothes. Underneath she wears one of her nursing bras and some shorts, which she can also leave on when going into the pool later on.

Ethan and Catherine have planned that during the whole birth Ethan will be responsible for Alma's health and Catherine will monitor the child.

Therefore Ethan starts taking Alma's blood pressure, heart rate and temperature before taking some blood and putting an IV line in, in case Alma will need any medication in the course of the day.

He has arranged with the teenage boys that they will drive the blood samples to the laboratory where his friend works, so that he gets the results quickly enough. And also if something happens and Alma looses too much blood, everything will be quick enough when they already have her blood type and everything.

After they are ready with preparing Alma, Catherine sits down on a chair and Ethan leans back against the wall behind the bed next to Alma.

For now she's still lying there but soon, she starts pacing the room again.

For the next hours she tries all possible positions: Lying, standing, sitting on the edge of the bed, sitting on the gymnastic ball or kneeling on the floor, either on all fours or with her upper body resting on the ball or the bed.

The pain free intervals get shorter with every time and Alma gets more exhausted. It's already 10 hours ago that she started feeling the first couple of contractions and there's still so much to go through.

Regularly Catherine checks her cervix but she's still only at 5 cm even if it feels like this has been going on for ages.

Ethan is very caring, helps Alma all of the time, comforts her during the contractions, gives her another massage or gets her something to drink.

As Miss Peregrine feels like nothing is helping they decide she should go into the pool for a bit. So while Catherine is accompanying Alma into the bathroom downstairs to empty her bladder first, Ethan uses the opportunity to get Olive to warm up the water in the pool.

He had filled it this morning when preparing the room but used cold water as it would have been cold by now anyway. Quickly without Catherine noticing, Olive heats it to a perfect temperature and as both women return, Alma can step into the warm water.

At first she thought that the edge of the pool would be too unstable to hold her body weight but after the first couple of contractions and leaning against the wall to relax in between, she can be sure that they won't give way.

Ethan sits next to her and the pool on the floor, so she can rest her head on his shoulder and he caresses her arms. During the contractions Ethan lets Alma squeeze his hand but she's afraid of hurting him and rather changes the position.

During the whole time Catherine keeps talking to both of them, engaging Alma in a conversation which is also really helpful and keeps her mind busy.

As the contractions intensify Alma starts using the breathing techniques she learned and talking becomes more and more irrelevant, giving way to incoherent sounds that instinctively leave her mouth.

Soon Miss Peregrine complains about an increasing back and pelvis pain and also the pressure is getting stronger. Like they learned it in their antenatal class, Ethan tries to help Alma by doing the Double Hip Squeeze, which makes it much more bearable for her. But Alma would need him to do it all the time with a lot of pressure and after only eight times, Ethan starts feeling worn out.

Therefore, Catherine suggests to take turns with him. She might not be the strongest but she has done it before and is quite fit.

Multiple times Alma goes in and out of the pool, Ethan drying her and checking her vital signs in between. He encourages her and she is doing really good but he can see that she's getting tired.

As he goes down to see what the children do and get something new to eat and drink for them, he finds all the children back in the living room.

After playing in the garden together, Olive and Emma served lunch and they ate together. Now the girls have talked the boys into playing some board games together while listening to the radio.

"Oh, music. That's a really good idea," Ethan says. "I think I might take a few of Alma's favourite CD's upstairs and play them."

"How is she?" Olive asks compassionately.

"Is the baby there yet?" Claire wants to know.

Ethan laughs even if he knows that it's a bit unfair as little Claire just doesn't know better.

"No, Claire, the baby isn't there, yet. It will still take a lot of time. But Alma is doing great, although I can't say that it's easy for her."

The older children nod understandingly.

"How long will it take?" Bronwyn asks.

"I can't tell you," Ethan sighs. "You never know before. But I'm guessing that it will be night again before the child gets born."

"So long?" Fiona asks astonished and also the other children have thought that it will be earlier. They are already bored here and can't wait to see the child.

"Yes, Fiona. A birth is unfortunately a very long process, at least most of the time and especially when it's your first birth."

"Ok...but will you call us as soon as it's there?" Claire begs.

"I will," Ethan smiles at them before grabbing something to eat and drink and taking a few CD's with him.

Back upstairs, Miss Peregrine is really happy about Ethan's idea with the music and finds a new way to relax to it.

She's sitting on the ball, Ethan standing behind her and together they sway to the rhythm.

But soon though even that doesn't help anymore. The contractions are now really intense and come every 2 and a half minutes.

Miss Peregrine's only way to express herself during a contraction has become moaning. On top of it she has started feeling quite nauseous. Ethan and Catherine have assured her that it's a normal thing during the birth and that she should just call for the bucket if she needs to throw up but for her it just makes everything worse.

But she doesn't want to take any medication. Ethan has offered her before to give her something for the pain but Alma declined. Millions of women give birth without that, so can she. And she doesn't want to take anything as long as it might affect the child as well.

Catherine had also talked about the possibility of an epidural to her in advance. But Alma didn't even think about it. She needs to move all the time and not being able to walk and lose control over her own body would be way scarier to her than any kind of pain.

So now she's left like this: lying in the birth pool, in pain and feeling nauseous. Ethan is sitting next to her, now also in the pool. He tries to make her feel better, holds her hand, caresses her arms and giving her something to drink. He has also placed a wet cloth on her forehead which makes her at least feel slightly better.

In between contractions she tries her best to relax in his arms, closes her eyes and takes deep breaths to get as much rest as possible until it starts all over again.

During one really strong contraction, she has instinctively gotten on all fours again, her head resting on the edge of the bed. Moaning, she gently sways from side to side as the door opens all of a sudden and Claire pokes her head inside.

Miss Peregrine is too distracted to react to it but Catherine and Ethan look up.

"What is it?" Ethan asks in a soft voice, smiling at the little girl, who seems slightly shocked by the sight.

"Errr...nothing," she stammers and looks up from her ymbryne to Ethan. "I just wanted to see how Miss Peregrine is doing."

Catherine smiles at her while stroking Alma's back from next to the pool. "She's doing great, sweetheart!" she says.

"It's just really hard for a woman to give birth, you know," she adds at seeing Claire's worried expression.

Claire nods slowly.

"Ok. Good luck, Miss P.!" she says before leaving again.

Miss Peregrine just gives her a small smile as she doesn't have the energy to say anything else.

"How cute," Catherine says to Ethan who nods at her before giving his attention back to Alma, leaning forward, whispering words of encouragement into her ear and gently caressing her baby bump.

"I can't do it anymore," Alma sighs as it's over again and turns around to fall back into Ethan's arms, who places the cloth back on her forehead.

"You can do much more than you think," Catherine assures her. "And you're doing great, really."

The last time she has checked her, Miss Peregrine was at 7 cm and Catherine can also see that the contractions are now getting a lot more intense, preparing Alma for the last parts.

And also Ethan knows that the hardest part for Alma is about to begin. He really feels for her as her groaning gets louder and wants to help but gets more and more helpless. It doesn't matter what he does, nothing is helping. If he leaves Alma a bit she calls for him and when he is close, trying to comfort her she pushes him away. Not able to take this closeness.

But Ethan knows that she doesn't mean it like that and keeps trying. Breathing with her, encouraging her to change her positions and just holding her hand.

A little while longer, Miss Peregrine stays in the water as she can cope with the contractions there better but soon it gets uncomfortable and her backache increases. Therefore Ethan helps her up and back into the bed after drying her again.

For some time now she is just wearing her nursing bra under the dressing gown as it's just the easiest and most comfortable for her and Catherine. Besides she's constantly feeling too hot. A few times she's gotten Ethan worried and he feared that she might have a fever but it was fine all the time.

"During childbirth, a lot of women change from feeling too hot to too cold all the time, that's perfectly normal," Catherine has told them.

Back in the bed, Catherine tells her to lie on her side, so Alma does as told. Ethan lies down next to her, his face just before hers and Catherine sits behind her back, gently stroking her shoulder while Ethan keeps talking and breathing with her.

Miss Peregrine feels now really exhausted and is shaking slightly from the effort. Gently Ethan takes her in his arms and kisses her forehead.

"Just keep breathing, in and out, slow deep breaths" he tells her while Catherine redoes the plait, Alma has put her hair into this morning and which has started to fall apart during the last hours. Then she gets a blanket to cover Alma's shoulders and back.

As the next contraction hits her, she grabs the bedpost, still preferring it to Ethan's hands.

"There's just so much pressure," she complains moaning.

"I know," Catherine comforts her. "But you're not ready to push yet, alright?"

Alma gives another groan which Catherine takes as a yes, then she turns back around to check the monitors of her machines. The contractions are nearly reaching their climax and the baby's heart rate is still normal enough.

Then they hear a knock at the door and as they answer, Emma opens it.

"I just wanted to see how it's going and if you need anything," she says. "We've just eaten dinner and if you want I can bring you up the leftovers."

Compassionately Emma takes in the state of her ymbryne. She looks very pale and tired and her forehead is covered in sweat, which Ethan keeps wiping from time to time. Emma is not shocked to see her like that, though, as it has been a lot more disturbing in the hospital and also as they found her in Caul's tower she looked terrible.

But nonetheless she feels for Miss Peregrine and gives her an encouraging smile, which Alma returns, although forced.

"Thank you Emma," Ethan says. "That would be great." And also Catherine agrees as she and Ethan haven't eaten anything for hours.

Only Miss Peregrine isn't too happy about it as Emma brings two plates full of smelling lasagna so Ethan and Catherine take turns and eat on the little balcony, where Alma can't smell it.

Emma stays a little while longer until the next contraction and tells Miss Peregrine about the other children as she wanted to know what they're up to. Emma informs her that they all spend a great afternoon, playing a lot and that she distracted them enough. Emma decides not to tell her though that they are now getting impatient as she can see that her ymbryne has to suffer a lot more from the delay of the birth.

But soon Miss Peregrine isn't up to talking anymore and Emma leaves to get a few ice cubes for her as Catherine remembered that they help lots of women during childbirth.

And she was right. In the breaks between the contractions it's really refreshing for Miss Peregrine to eat a few of them and it also helps a little bit with her nausea.

But the breaks aren't long anymore and the contractions which are still getting stronger are making it really hard for her. When they are really bad she isn't even aware of her surroundings anymore, completely absorbed in her own universe.

Most of the time she's lying on the bed either on the side or her back. But as she's still not allowed to push even if she feels a strong urge to do so, it's making her crazy and she needs to move around in the small room, using the ball or kneeling down on all fours on the floor again.

In between the contractions she's still quite clear all of a sudden again and talks with the others, sometimes even laughing about herself. She still can't believe how she can be so out of it and full of pain in one moment and quite normal in the next. There's still the back pain and the strong pressure that don't subside but it's really bearable. Unfortunately the breaks keep getting shorter and she has to concentrate hard to get her breath back and rest up before the next one starts again.

Ethan is still trying his best to help her but she doesn't let him near her most of the time, grabbing onto something on her own and groaning, increasingly louder.

As Ethan wants to change the CD again as the second one has just finished, Alma stops him.

"Stop that!" she snarls at him from the floor. "It's not helping!" Then she's back to moaning and Ethan raises his hands in surrender and smirks at Catherine. He knows exactly that Alma can be quite harsh to others, only he has never had to feel that until now.

But seeing her like that kind of amuses him even though he knows she's in a lot of pain.

Therefore he ignores her comments and kneels down behind her to support her pelvis again.

Downstairs, the children are all sitting on the couches. After they have eaten dinner they all wanted to watch a movie as none of them wants to go to bed before they see the child.

Emma thought it a good idea as none of them would sleep anyway when going into their rooms upstairs now. And she wouldn't want them to hear everything that's going on in Ethan's room.

A movie will be the right thing to distract them all and they can even watch another one to keep awake for later.

As she returns from getting all their pyjamas from upstairs, so that they can at least get ready for bed, she finds them sitting on the couches, talking.

Also they can't miss hearing the screams and moans from upstairs.

The younger girls are even a bit scared for their ymbryne. They have never seen a birth before and couldn't imagine it to be that brutal. Especially Claire who has been upstairs and has seen everything is still a bit disturbed. So Olive tries her best to distract them by starting one conversation after another. But of course the children also want to know what's happening upstairs and keep asking questions, which the teenagers try to answer truthfully.

Only the other boys don't take part in the conversation. They're doing their best not to burst out laughing at the sounds. Of course they know that it's unfair and therefore try to hide their amusement but for boys at that age these noises are just pretty funny.

"Millard, stop that!" Emma yells at him while handing out all the pyjamas. He has once again made a joke and Hugh and Horace laughed about it.

"I wish you men would have to suffer like that one day!" she says and Olive agrees with her.

"Miss P. is in pain, how can you laugh about that?" she asks and shakes her head at them.

"I'm sure they know that, right?" Enoch wants to stop the discussion and glares at the boys who immediately get serious again.

"See, so no need to argue anymore," he says to the girls and takes Olive on his lap.

Reluctantly Emma agrees and starts the movie. At least it's loud enough, so they don't hear anything else and she can sit down next to Jake and relax a bit herself.

Upstairs Ethan has just gone out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. As Alma couldn't stand the pressure anymore when standing upright, she wanted to lay down on the bed again and is now recovering from a very long contraction.

Ethan takes a few deep breaths. It's 9 o'clock and already dark outside again.

 _What a day..._ he thinks to himself.

Then he decides to go back inside before the next contraction starts again. They are so long now, that Miss Peregrine doesn't know what to do anymore, how to breathe or what to hold on to.

"Alma you're doing everything right. We're here for you," Ethan says.

He is constantly in front of her face, talking to her and showing her how to breathe while Catherine keeps checking her and the child. The last time she was at over 9 cm so Catherine told her to only wait a little while longer until she can finally push.

It still takes another hour but as the time has eventually come, Alma is happy to be able to do something now. Unfortunately it's not the relief she thought it would be though. For hours she has felt the urge to push but know that she can, it's still as hard as before and really uncomfortable.

"It feels like I have to use the toilet," she complains moaning.

"Don't worry," Catherine assure her. "It's only the baby's head pressing against your organs, just keep pushing."

Also Ethan keeps encouraging her, finally making her squeeze his hand when she needs to.

The contractions don't seem to stop anymore, now lasting longer than ever and also the nausea has increased again. After one really strong contraction, Alma even had to throw up into the bucket, Ethan was holding.

Panting she tries to catch her breath before she has to push again. At the moment she's lying on her back on the bed. Ethan is sitting next to her, holding her right leg and stroking her hand while Catherine sits in front of her, telling her exactly what to do.

During the contractions all of Alma's surroundings seem to fade out, she can barely hear the others talking to her.

"Keep breathing, you're doing great!"

"Come on, push now!"

It still takes a long time for the child to make its way through the birth canal and Miss Peregrine is getting so tired.

"Keep going, Alma, " Ethan encourages her. "You're nearly there."

As she can't do it anymore and Catherine wants to show her how close they are, Ethan gets the little mirror to let Alma see what they see.

"See, we can already see its hair," he says smiling at Alma who can't help but feel a bit better, although it's not a pleasant sight for her.

"Take that away, I don't want to see it anymore" she moans as another contraction makes her grimace again.

Downstairs, the children are still sitting on the couches, watching their movie. The little ones are slowly falling asleep and also the rest of them have to yawn a few times. It was a really long day and by now it's already half past ten. Despite the sound of the movie, Emma can hear Miss Peregrine's screams from upstairs and she gets the impression that it's a really hard part for her right now. Listening very intently she can also hear Catherine and Ethan talking to her and it sounds nearly desperate.

Therefore she excuses herself and goes upstairs to see if they could need her help.


	72. Chapter 31 Part III

**Chapter 31**

 **Part III**

And Emma was right.

As Ethan and Catherine can now see the child, they are getting closer to the real birth and both of them have their hands full with different tasks.

Catherine is still kneeling in front of Alma, checking the child's heart rate regularly and telling Alma what to do. Ethan is trying to help Alma curl up when pushing but at the same time tries to hold her hand and keep her legs in position as she's getting so weak that even that is too much for her.

"You're a genius!" he sighs therefore at seeing Emma entering the room and offering her help.

"Come here, you can sit on the bed and support her from behind her back, alright?"

Emma nods and climbs up the bed, sitting down behind her ymbryne. Being in the middle of another strong contraction, she barely notices the change, just trying to keep breathing while pushing as Catherine talks to her.

As she falls back exhausted to catch her breath, Emma embraces her and comforts her by stroking her arms.

A little while longer they stay like that. Alma isn't sure if she wants to try out another position but is really indecisive. Ethan tells her that they are with her whatever she decides but as Alma still can't make the decision, Catherine steps in.

"Then we're deciding for you and even if I'm always for trying something new, I think you should stay like that, unless you feel really uncomfortable. But I think you're doing great like this and you're slowly coming to an end," Catherine explains.

Miss Peregrine doesn't care about it as another contraction calls for her full attention, so the question is off the table.

Emma is a little bit overwhelmed by the whole situation. Of course she has known what a birth means but you have to see it for yourself before you can really understand the immense stress for all participants.

"I love you, honey," Ethan tells Alma and brushes her hair out of her face. "Keep pushing, you're doing well!"

"Stop that!" Miss Peregrine groans harshly, which makes Emma look up in shock. She has never heard her ymbryne talking like that at least not to her loved ones.

"Don't worry, Emma," Ethan says, trying to hide his smirk from Alma. He doesn't want her to feel like he's making fun of her.

"This is nothing compared to what I had to hear before," Ethan reports. "It went from 'Don't touch me' to 'I hate you' over the last few hours."

"Ouch!" Ethan exclaims suddenly as Miss Peregrine squeezes his hand very firmly. No one knows if it's her way of punishing him or just coincidence that another contraction hits her right then.

Ethan endures it though and caresses her hand lovingly.

"Our Alma can really get quite furious but how can we not forgive her as she's going through this at the moment," he says to Emma.

She nods compassionately and strokes Miss Peregrine's arms again.

"There's so much pressure!" Alma whines. "And it really hurts and is burning like fire."

"I know," Catherine answers while using her hand to support the sensitive skin from the outside, to hopefully prevent any serious tearing.

"It's the baby's head, you're nearly there, Alma, she's coming!"

So absorbed in her work, Catherine didn't think about what she was saying. And also Miss Peregrine wasn't listening properly. Another contraction keeps her as well as Emma distracted. Just Ethan looks at Catherine with wide eyes.

"What did you just say?" he asks smiling. "It's a girl?"

Only then does Catherine notice it.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry, but I thought that at least _you_ knew that."

Ethan shakes his head.

"Didn't you look at the ultrasound pictures?" Catherine laughs.

"I did but not like that. I don't know. It was never important to Alma and me or at least it always felt like a silent consent not to ask, so I never thought about it. Is it really a girl?" he asks again.

"I'm pretty sure," Catherine confirms again.

"Alma, have you heard that?" Ethan asks her as Miss Peregrine falls back against Emma after the contraction.

"That's wonderful," she sighs weakly. "Then we can use all the dresses after all." Exhausted and still panting she leans back and closes her eyes.

Ethan gets quite worried as she's so dazed all of a sudden and nudges her slightly.

As she looks up again he gets more relieved.

"Ok, right," Ethan says and strokes her cheek. "Rest up a bit."

Slowly, Alma closes her eyes again and Ethan stands up to check her blood pressure and her temperature again before also taking another blood sample to give to Jake.

Catherine has assured him, that Alma's exhaustion is still normal but he just wants to rule out any complications.

As he returns, she's wide awake again and trying to breathe through her next contraction while still trying to push.

"Come on, Alma. Just a few more and you can hold your child in your arms. It's not long now," Catherine encourages her.

Miss Peregrine is grabbing Emma very firmly as she has wrapped her arms around her ymbryne.

Ethan takes his seat again and tries to hold her hand again while still supporting her by holding her legs.

"I can't do this anymore," Alma whines as she can breathe again.

"You're amazing, trust yourself, Alma," Ethan tells her. "You're strong, you can do it."

"And again, Alma," Catherine says as she sees another contraction starting. "You're doing great, keep pushing.

Miss Peregrine screams out, she doesn't really hear the others talking to her, completely absorbed in her pain.

"Yes, the head is nearly out, come on!"

With one last scream and another bruising to Ethan's hand, it's done and Catherine holds the tiny head in her hands. Ethan still holds the legs and is mesmerized by the sight of his daughter's face, her eyes still closed.

"Alma, you did it!" Catherine says happily. "The worst part is over now but I need you to stop pushing for a moment."

Panting heavily, Miss Peregrine leans back again, already quite relieved but still in a lot of pain. Catherine, still holding the head in place feels for the umbilical cord, in case it might be slung around the baby but it's all fine.

"Ok, everything is alright. Just rest up for the next contraction," she says while Emma gently strokes Miss Peregrine's arms once more and Ethan can't take his eyes of his daughter, caressing Alma's hand.

"Ok, now Alma, one last time, push as hard as you can!" Catherine encourages.

One last time Miss Peregrine does her best, leaning forward with Emma's help, pushing really hard and groaning in a very low voice.

With one last scream she falls back and Catherine takes the child in her hands.

"Alma, it's done, you did it!" she exclaims happily, briefly wiping the child with a towel before placing the crying newborn on Alma's chest.

Its bluish skin contrasts with Alma's and the little girls is squirming as Alma wraps her arms around her.

"Oh my god," she manages to say as she's still panting but for the first time in hours she's smiling again.

Emma is really happy for her ymbryne and smiles at the sight of the newborn lying in front of her. Then she frees herself from under Miss Peregrine and climbs off the bed to make room for Ethan.

Also crying with joy he takes Alma in his arms and kisses her sweaty forehead.

"I'm so proud of you," he says. "I love you."

And this time Alma smiles at him, too, still out of breath but so happy and relieved.

"Is it really a girl?" she wants to know as she can form a coherent sentence again, her voice still really weak though.

Catherine smiles and nods at her.

"It is!" Ethan answers proudly. "It's our daughter!" He gently strokes the little girl's head with his finger.

Both Alma and Ethan cry tears of joy as Catherine walks around to tidy up the worst and gets another towel for the child and Alma, who has started to shiver again.

The baby is still crying but none of them gets alarmed, it's a wonderful and relieving sound. This world is just so new to the tiny human being and Alma keeps pressing it against her skin, planting kisses on her head and talking to her in the voice the child is most used to.

Ethan keeps stroking Alma's arms to warm her up a bit while Catherine gets everything ready on the small changing table for the examination of the newborn later.

"Look at that hair!" Ethan exclaims happily, which makes Alma laugh slightly.

"Yes, she's really got a lot of hair already!"

"And she's got your beautiful hair!" Ethan points out before planting a kiss on Alma's head.

Catherine comes back, looking at the happy couple before she goes to check on Alma, seeing how far she is with the expulsion of the placenta.

"Ok, if you feel a bit of cramping, give me a light push," she says to Alma, who's still cuddling her moving baby. Catherine gently massages her abdomen to stimulate another contraction and lightly tugs at the umbilical cord.

And only a few seconds later, Catherine is examining the placenta assuring Ethan that it's complete and that Alma hasn't retained any of it.

Knowing that also the most dangerous part for Alma is over now, Ethan can relax too. Catherine gives the couple some more time alone with their child, again cleaning up a few things to make the room look more presentable for the children later.

Then she checks Alma's bleeding and stitches her up a bit, getting Ethan's doctor's bag. Unfortunately she couldn't completely prevent any tearing earlier.

"Is it bad?" Ethan asks from next to Alma, who doesn't notice what Catherine's doing, too mesmerized by her daughter.

"Nah..." Catherine assures him and shakes her head. "I may not even need a lot stitches, two or three will do, just to be on the safe side."

Ethan nods understandingly.

As Catherine is done she cleans up and helps Alma to at least put on some loose underpants. Then she can get rid of all the coverings and towels and Alma can snuggle up to Ethan in a clean bed with their pillows and blankets.

She still enjoys this moment but is getting very tired now, too.

"I think it's time to take away your little princess for a short while," Catherine says to the couple and goes to take the child.

Confused Miss Peregrine looks back.

"She seems completely fine but I still have to examine her."

Now worried, Alma gives her the child. Until now she has been so overwhelmed by everything that has happened, that she completely forgot that her little daughter could be unwell.

Insecurely she looks at Ethan but he gives her an reassuring nod.

Suddenly Miss Peregrine is wide awake again and watches intently what Catherine is doing.

The trained doctor cleans the newborn up before listening to her lungs and heart, testing her reflexes and taking her temperature and even some blood from the umbilical cord. Then she writes down the little girl's size and weight before inspecting every body part.

"That's funny!" she exclaims suddenly and turns around to face the couple.

Alarmed Alma looks up. With everything that has been going on she hasn't thought about her initial fear when giving birth in a hospital. And since the child was born she hasn't checked if anything is different yet. She was too relieved that it was all over.

 _But what has Catherine found now?_

Also Ethan nervously waits for Catherine to keep talking.

"You're daughter seems to be a little water lover. Look, the skin between her fingers and toes is more distinct than usually."

"What?" Alma asks shocked, now really worried that she missed this peculiarity.

Also Ethan gets up to take a look for himself.

"Calm down," Catherine laughs out loud. "She's not born with interdigital webbing. The skin just connects the digits a tiny bit longer but it's still not abnormal. She's still a human."

Catherine can't stop laughing about the couple's reaction. How could they get so worried so quickly.

But Ethan and Alma still aren't completely reassured.

As Catherine has finished with the examination, she puts a nappy on the newborn and dresses it in a tiny, beautiful bodysuit and pink socks before handing it back to Alma.

"She's perfectly healthy and passed all the tests," she tells the smiling mother.

Relieved, Miss Peregrine leans back into Ethan, with their daughter in her arms again.

One last time she inspects her baby closely to see if there might be anything peculiar after all but apart from what Catherine has already noticed there's nothing to see yet. They will just have to wait and see.

Then her exhaustion catches up with her again and she can barely keep her eyes open any longer.

Just the baby is still wide awake, squirming in her mother's arms, moving her tiny fists and again crying from time to time.

One would think that this tiny being is also exhausted from the whole process but far from it.

Catherine notices Alma's feelings.

"I think she will fall asleep when you breastfeed her," she advises.

Unsure Alma nods, so Catherine shows her how to do it correctly and she was right and the newborn closes its eyes only a few minutes later.

"Ok, I think that's it for the night," Catherine whispers then.

"You deserve some sleep. I might leave you two alone for a bit and go down to the children. I bet Emma has already told them about everything, so they will probably be quite excited."

The couple smiles at her.

"Do you think, you're up for a little visit before they all go to bed?" Catherine wants to make sure.

Miss Peregrine nods.

"Of course."

She's so tired but can imagine how excited her children must be and they've already waited the whole evening to see the child.

"But first, I think Ethan might want to cut the umbilical cord or do you want to do it together or with the children?" Catherine asks, already holding the scissors.

"No, I think we'll do it conservatively," Miss Peregrine laughs and looks at Ethan, who nods.

"I'd really like to do it but if you want, too, we can really do it together," he suggests but Miss Peregrine shakes her head.

"I already did my part for today, now it's your turn," she laughs and Catherine and Ethan join in before Catherine hands him the scissors.

"I'm sure you know how to use that," she teases him and Ethan sticks his tongue out at her before focussing back on his task. They didn't want to do it just after the birth but thought it good to do it before the children come in to see the child. Ethan only knows too well that there are good reasons to wait even longer but as the child seems to be strong and healthy they decided together that it's also justifiable.

As he's finished, Catherine cleans up the rest and then goes down to the children.

Left alone, Ethan kisses Alma again.

"Despite everything you look so beautiful - you both do," he says and nearly cries again.

"I'm so proud of you, Alma! I know it was hard for you, maybe even more than you first thought but you did so well."

"Thank you, Ethan," Miss Peregrine sighs. "But you were a huge support for me as well, I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yes you could've! But for us both it was easier like this and luckily the two of you are fine and we didn't have to go into a hospital."

Miss Peregrine nods at him and they both keep looking at the tiny baby in her arms.

A couple of minutes later Catherine returns with all the children.

They are so excited and it is really hard for them to keep quiet as Catherine has told them to. The little ones sit down on the big bed with the couple and all of them look closely at the sleeping baby.

"It's so cute!" the girls whisper.

"She looks like you, Miss P." Fiona says happily and some of the others agree, which makes Alma smile.

"They are right!" Ethan tells her. "She has the same pointy nose."

"What is she called?" Hugh wants to know and all of them look at the couple expectantly.

Alma and Ethan look at each other and have to laugh.

"We haven't thought about that at all today," Miss Peregrine answers amused and shrugs.

"What does she look like to you?" Catherine encourages the couple, knowing that they hadn't decided on a name before.

All children have got an idea of their own and jump up and down excitedly but Catherine puts her index finger on her lips to tell them that they should stay quiet and let the parents think about it first.

Ethan and Alma both look at their daughter lovingly.

After some time they answer simultaneously.

"Charlotte."

"Rose."

"Charlotte Rose! What a wonderful name," Catherine decides and Alma and Ethan look at each other questioningly.

But they both like each other's choices as well as the combination of both and agree before the children start cheering.

They are all really happy that their sister is now with them and the fact that she has now a name makes it more real.

Claire and Bronwyn sing the name over and over again while doing a little dance.

"Then I can also finish the birth certificate," Catherine says and walks over to the cabinet to take care of the paperwork.

A little while longer the children stay and they all enjoy this moment together, watching the sleeping baby.

Then Miss Peregrine sighs. She's now really feeling how exhausted her body is.

"Ok, time for bed now!" Catherine decides.

The children say goodnight to Ethan and their ymbryne and leave the room to go to bed. For all of them it's obvious that neither Ethan nor Miss Peregrine will tuck them in so they're satisfied with Emma and Olive. Besides they are all so tired and fall asleep before they can think about a bedtime story.

By now it's already way past midnight and for all of them it has been a long day and night.

Also Catherine says goodbye to the happy couple. Alma has nearly fallen asleep in Ethan's arms, so she takes the newborn and places it in its little bed for them.

"If you have any questions or problems, just call me," she tells Ethan. "Spend a relaxed morning. Alma will probably still feel exhausted and she will also feel some pain then as everything has been numbed by the joy and her hormones tonight. Let her just stay in bed or on the couch and breastfeed the baby in between naps. During the afternoon I will come over again, possibly with the midwife, I've told you about, she will help you through the first time."

"Thank you," Ethan whispers before Catherine leaves him alone with the woman he loves and their beautiful newborn daughter.

A little while longer he stays awake, smiling to himself, just watching his two sleeping girls, trying to process how his life changed in the last hours.

"Charlotte Rose," he whispers to himself, testing how the name sounds when he's saying it. Then also he falls into a well deserved and happy sleep, for the first time in his life as a real father.


	73. Chapter 32 Part I

**Chapter 32**

 **Part I**

If Miss Peregrine thought it would get easier after the birth of their child, she was definitely wrong.

She still feels as week and unproductive as in the last weeks of her pregnancy, her body is still sore and recovering from the burden of the pregnancy plus there's now all the new pain from the birth as well.

In the first two days after her daughter's birth she didn't feel like moving at all as everything she did hurt, she couldn't sit and going to the toilet had become her new nightmare.

Therefore she wasn't happy at all as a new horror found its way into her life: breastfeeding. When seeing so many other women doing it, she never thought that it would be such torture in the beginning. The first time, immediately after the birth, as Catherine showed her what to do it was alright. Uncomfortable but alright. The only thing Miss Peregrine experienced were some cramps while breastfeeding but compared to labour, it was nothing. But after a few times it has gotten harder and even painful. The sensitive areas have gotten irritated, sore and are now even beginning to bleed.

Of course Alma and Ethan have consulted Catherine and the midwife she introduced to them immediately. They gave her lots of advice on where the problem might be and how Miss Peregrine can change it but she had to keep breastfeeding and endure the pain that didn't seem to get less for now.

On top of that the sleep deficit and the anew hormonal changes in her body are making Miss Peregrine feel like an emotional wreck. She's constantly crying, when she feels unwell or over just the smallest things.

Nonetheless Alma is the happiest she has ever been. She lives a perfect live with her children, Ethan and now their little daughter, which lifts her spirits every time she looks at her. The first day after the birth she couldn't stop looking at her daughter, which hasn't changed much. The whole day she sat on the couch, holding her girl, kissing and playing with her. It's still like a miracle to her, that this little human being grew inside of her and is now here with her. Of course Alma has held babies before but she has never felt like this not even with little Claire. It doesn't mean that she loves her other children less but it's just different.

The other children seem to have fallen in love with their younger sister as well and also Ethan is the most caring and supportive partner and father.

The first days after the birth he managed the whole household on his own, played with the children and cared for Alma and the baby. He arranged for her to just lie in bed or on the couch with their daughter, not to worry about anything, sleep when the baby sleeps and feed her when she's hungry.

As the pain is now really bad, he sits with her when she's breastfeeding, takes her hand and strokes her back. The midwife has told them of multiple things that can help and reduce the pain, so Ethan went to get all of it: cooling pads, nipple cream, nipple shields and a breast pump, everything to relieve the huge strain Alma's breasts have to put up with at the moment.

And she has to say that it's really making it a little bit easier for her and she's just so grateful to have Ethan and the children. That they help her so much and that they are still putting up with her, no matter how emotional or edgy she gets.

They tell her that it's just normal, that she has been through a lot and hasn't slept more than a two or three hours in a row. As the child is still so small, also its voice isn't that strong. Therefore the children are lucky and don't hear it crying at night. For Miss Peregrine and Ethan it's different but only Alma has to get up and feed her, allowing Ethan to fall back asleep. But usually he stays with her until Charlotte is asleep again.

Nonetheless he's a bit more rested than Alma and also stronger as he's not recovering from being pregnant and from the birth.

On Monday, the third day after the birth, they change their daily routine for the first time.

So far they have spend some relaxed days at home. The children were there most of the time, a few older ones only went to visit their friends once.

As they have called their family and friends one day after the birth, they already had a few visitors. Of course Sandra came to see the newborn, brought another present for her and Alma and again offered to take the children or help in another way.

And also Miss Avocet has called them one afternoon. Once more she told Alma that she's really proud of her and that it will never be a problem that she now has a biological family in addition to being an ymbryne. In the end she offered to come over and help or at the least help Alma when she feels up to transform again.

But Miss Peregrine said that it's alright for now, it will still take a while until she feels fitter again and with the children and Ethan, they have enough people to help at the moment.

But today Ethan thought to leave the house for the first time again. Of course they have been for small walks in the garden or down the street with Charlotte but he hasn't been into town.

The teenagers have taken care of the grocery shopping so far, but now Ethan had to manage a few other things in town.

Which means that for the first time, Alma is alone at home with her now 13 children. So far Jake has spent more time at their house instead of with his parents, there was just so much happening here and to help with.

Just after the breakfast Ethan goes to take his car.

"But be careful!" Alma says. "You haven't slept a lot last night as well, I'm not sure that you should drive."

"I'll be fine," Ethan assures her, planting a kiss on her cheek before also giving his daughter a kiss. "It's not such a long drive."

"Alright," Alma sighs, rocking little Charlotte in her arms. She has just fed her again and now she's luckily asleep. But that's not surprising as she has barely slept last night and has been quite whiney all morning.

"Try to get some rest as well," Ethan advises. "I think I'll be back around lunchtime."

Alma nods. "Can you also get a few other things. I've written down what we need on the piece of paper, that's there on the cabinet."

"Of course," Ethan says taking a look at it. "Do we also need something for lunch later?"

Emma shakes her head.

"I already know what I'm going to cook and we have everything here or Fiona is growing it," she answers.

"Alright!" Ethan says before he disappears through the front door.

After clearing the table Emma and Olive send the children to do their chores. While they both clean the living room and prepare everything for lunch later, the little ones are supposed to tidy up all their stuff and the boys do the laundry before Millard and Hugh hang it out.

Bronwyn and Claire try to help Miss Peregrine as best as they can, like they have tried for the last few days.

Like Ethan has taught them so many months ago, they wanted to hold the newborn very often, went around with their sister in the stroller, helped dressing her or changing her nappies and playing with her when she gets bored and moody, of course never alone, either with Miss Peregrine or Ethan.

Miss Peregrine wants to take Ethan's advise and go into her room to lie down a bit but unfortunately, Charlotte has woken up again, of course crying.

She's a little bit worried for her daughter as she's crying a lot more often today but Ethan has already taken a look at her and said that he can't find anything wrong, that might be serious.

This is everything new to Alma and she gets worried so quickly but luckily Ethan is so calm all the time and can always take her worries away, reminding her that it's normal for babies who can't do anything else than crying for expressing themselves. Even if it's just because of being hungry, a dirty nappy or a bit of a sore tummy.

Still worried, Miss Peregrine checks Charlotte's temperature again but it's completely normal.

Sighing she picks the newborn up and walks around their bedroom and also onto the balcony, rocking her in her arms. Luckily her stitches don't hurt so much anymore so she can walk around more freely than the last days.

As it's not helping she changes Charlotte's nappy again, even if the last change wasn't that long ago.

While standing in front of the changing table, she hears the door and turns around to see Claire coming inside.

She has heard the baby crying and wanted to see what she can do to help.

"Shall I go around the garden with her, maybe she'll fall asleep again then," she suggests.

"That's a really nice idea, Claire," Miss Peregrine answers, smiling at her girl. "But I'll think we'll manage up here."

Claire hangs her head but stays, waiting and watching her ymbryne walking around the room again, as her little sister is still crying.

Then she runs around her ymbryne, trying to entertain the newborn by singing and pulling funny faces.

As also that doesn't help, Miss Peregrine sits down on the bed. Charlotte can't be hungry again and she really doesn't want to breastfeed her more than necessary.

Alma sighs.

Maybe it will at least calm her little girl down.

As she leans back against the wall and starts opening her blouse, Claire jumps on the bed as well and starts arranging a few pillows to make it comfortable for Miss Peregrine.

"Shall I get more pillows from downstairs?" she asks eagerly.

"No, thank you," Miss Peregrine answers, not looking at Claire but at Charlotte, who's squirming in her arms, grimacing while still crying as loud as she can, not even noticing as Alma opens her nursing bra.

Claire looks disappointed and bites her lip thinking about what else she can do.

The baby is still crying and doesn't want to start nursing, so Claire gently strokes her little head.

"Claire, I think that's not necessary," Miss Peregrine says, slightly annoyed. "Don't you want to go down and play with the others?"

But Claire shakes her head. She can see that Miss Peregrine flinches as Charlotte latches on, so she wants to hold her hand like she saw Ethan do it but Miss Peregrine uses them both to hold Charlotte in place as her nursing pillow is downstairs.

She thinks hard what else she can do. Ethan has told them all that it's really hard for Miss Peregrine at the moment and that they should all help her and be good children. Claire wants to be there for her ymbryne but what else can she do?

A few tears are already making their way down Miss Peregrine's cheek and the baby is crying again, which makes her even more desperate.

This is all too much for her and the pain is only making it worse, as is Claire's fussing, no matter how well she means.

As Claire also starts petting Miss Peregrine's cheek, it's just too much.

"Claire can you please just leave?!" she snarls at her and gets surprised to hear her own voice so harsh. And she even got louder which she never does, no matter how angry she is at her children.

Claire is shocked as well and looks at her ymbryne with wide eyes, tears threatening to break free.

Without saying anything she turns around and leaves the room.

Immediately, Miss Peregrine regrets her reaction but she can't think about it now as her crying newborn still has to be her first priority at the moment.

She will just have to talk to Claire later, when they have both calmed down a bit.

It takes some more tries of bringing Charlotte to nurse but finally she drinks a little bit and calms down. Miss Peregrine has lain down on the side and placed the newborn next to her on the mattress.

Gently she places her hand on the tiny girl's stomach and keeps rocking her a bit until she finally falls asleep.

Sighing Miss Peregrine turns on her back, looking at the ceiling.

Now would be a good time to go talk to Claire, but the ymbryne is just so exhausted and can't keep her eyes open any longer, as she's also just recovering from the anew pain of the breastfeeding.

Therefore it doesn't take long and also she is fast asleep.

The next time she is being woken up by a crying Charlotte is already 2 and a half hours later.

Still a bit sleepy but way more rested than this morning, Miss Peregrine turns towards her again.

"Are you hungry again, little princess?" she asks the newborn, while playfully tickling her tummy.

The little girl looks at her before screwing up her face and crying again.

Miss Peregrine has to laugh.

"Oh, right you are," she says while taking her in her arms to feed her again. Since Charlotte was born, she had to feed her more or less every 3 hours and since she didn't drink very much the last time, it's alright after 2 and half.

Feeling a little bit better after her nap, Miss Peregrine is also a lot more relaxed than earlier and can cope with the pain better. And she has to say, even if it's very slowly, they're both making progress and it gets a tiny bit easier every time, both of them learning how to do it correctly.

After her feed, Alma sits back against the wall, draws her knees to her chest and places Charlotte on her thighs, just cuddling and talking to her. She seems to feel a little bit better than this morning, which makes Alma quite relieved.

After some time, she decides to go downstairs again. Maybe she can help Emma with the cooking or can talk to Claire. Charlotte is still awake and in a pretty good mood, so Miss Peregrine thinks she can place her in her little seat downstairs and can have her hands free to do something.

But as she arrives downstairs, Emma and Olive are already finished and have just started serving the food.

"Right on time!" Emma exclaims happily as she sees her ymbryne walking down the stairs.

"I hope you're hungry," Olive adds.

"I am, thank you, girls," Miss Peregrine says smiling. "And I'm so thirsty, I would have never thought that breastfeeding might do this to you. I could drink a whole bottle of water."

She places Charlotte in her seat on one of the couches and goes into the kitchen.

"No one's stopping you," Emma answers winking at her while Fiona, who has been reading in the living room, approaches Charlotte to play with her.

Miss Peregrine takes a glass to fill it with some water.

"Is there anything left to help you?" she asks.

Olive shakes her head.

"No, everything's done you can just sit down," she says.

"Children!" Emma calls. "Please go wash your hands and come sit down at the table," Emma calls her siblings.

And soon they are all streaming inside the room. Some have been in the garden and others upstairs in their rooms.

"Bronwyn, can you please get Claire as well," Emma says as Bronwyn wants to take her seat at the table.

"How would I know where she is, I haven't seen her for some time," she answers annoyed.

"What do you mean?" Miss Peregrine cuts in. "Isn't she in your room or something?"

Bronwyn shakes her head before starting to fill her plate with the delicious food.

"But she's not here either," the ymbryne points out.

Bronwyn just shrugs. "I haven't seen her since this morning when she went to help you. She asked me to come with her but Fiona had already asked me to go play in the garden."

"You mean you haven't seen her since? None of you?" Miss Peregrine asks confused, looking around to Emma and Olive. But they shake their heads as well.

"This can't be," Miss Peregrine says again. "She left my room two hours ago, has no one of you spend the morning with her?"

Also the other children who are now joining them at the table shake their heads.

"Olive and I have been in the kitchen the whole time and we didn't see her, I thought she's still with you upstairs or in her room."

"Oh no!" Miss Peregrine exclaims shocked. "This is all my fault!"


	74. Chapter 32 Part II

**Chapter 32**

 **Part II**

The other children look at Miss Peregrine confused, especially as she stands up abruptly.

"We have to find her!"

"What? Why do you think she's lost?" Olive asks.

"She must be somewhere, maybe she's still playing in the garden and hasn't heard us calling."

"No!" Miss Peregrine shakes her head slowly, now really worried for her little girl.

"And why would it be your fault?" Emma asks frowning.

Alma rakes her fingers through her hair.

"Claire was with me, that's right," she starts. "She tried to help me but I was too stressed and couldn't stand it. I'm so stupid, she just meant well. But I yelled at her, telling her to leave me alone."

Now Miss Peregrine is really desperate.

What if something happened to Claire and that just because of her?

"But that doesn't have to mean anything," Emma points out, she probably just did like you told her and found something else to do."

"No, Emma I don't think so. I was pretty harsh and I think I really hurt her by saying that."

Panicky Miss Peregrine paces the room as the front door opens and Ethan enters the house.

"Oh, that smells good," he says, walks straight into the living room, giving his little daughter a kiss before turning around to walk to the dining table. Then he frowns.

"What's going on?" he asks at seeing the serious faces, first of all Alma's.

"Have you seen Claire?" she asks desperately.

"No," Ethan answers confused. "Why?"

"She's gone," Emma explains as Miss Peregrine is lost in her thoughts.

"She must have gone down the stairs after leaving my room," the ymbryne thinks out loud. "Has really none of you seen her?"

Again the children shake their heads.

"Emma, Olive, when you were here the whole time, she must have passed your way."

"We didn't see her, really!" Emma says again.

"She could have come down the stairs and quickly disappeared out of the front door without us noticing. If anything else we would have seen her for sure," Olive says.

"But why would she do that?" Ethan asks, still confused.

"Because I'm terrible," Miss Peregrine sighs and falls back down on the chair.

"Ouch," she exclaims as she has briefly forgotten about her stitches.

"What do you mean?" Ethan keeps asking.

Miss Peregrine doesn't feel like repeating everything again. "I just treated her really badly and I think she might have run away!"

Then Miss Peregrine jumps to her feet again.

"I have to go look for her," she decides and wants to leave.

"Wait!" Ethan says. "Where will you go? You can't just run around everywhere. Be sensible, Alma, think of your stitches, you're supposed to rest."

"I don't care!" Alma argues, again more loudly than intended. She's really on edge at the moment and overreacts so quickly.

Ethan approaches her, grabs her arm to turn her around.

Also Charlotte seems to feel the tension and starts crying again.

"See what you do?" Ethan says.

Worried Miss Peregrine looks around. Her tiny girl on the couch is crying again while her other children sit at the table, looking shocked at her. Millard, who thinks no one can see him, tries to steal some of the food in the bowls on the table and also the others seem to be hungry and can't wait to start eating but are worried and scared at the same time.

Ethan strokes Alma's arms and then walks over to pick up Charlotte.

Immediately she stops crying and looks at her father with wide eyes.

Ethan carries the small girl in just one of his big hands and holds her out for Alma.

"Take her! She will calm you down."

Miss Peregrine sighs but does as told. She has to admit that Ethan was right, just holding her daughter makes her calmer, at least now as she's not crying anymore.

"What are we going to do?" Alma asks desperately.

"Are you really sure that she has run away?" Ethan wants to know and Miss Peregrine nods, feeling so ashamed of her behaviour.

"Ok, then I will find her," Ethan says.

"Please let me come with you," Miss Peregrine keeps asking but Ethan shakes his head.

"You're needed here and you have to rest. Besides you won't be helping much when sitting next to me in the car. Here you can at least call all of Claire's friends and see if she's there."

"Right, I'll do that!" Miss Peregrine says and wants to lay down Charlotte again to get the phone.

"Alma, calm down!" Ethan stops her. "You panicking now is not helping, take some deep breaths. Claire will be fine. And even if you're right and she has run away, she knows how to find her way through the city by now and she knows that she has to be careful with the traffic."

"But there are so many other things that can happen to small girls like her," Miss Peregrine sighs.

Ethan squeezes her shoulder encouragingly.

"Nothing will happen to her, do you hear me?"

Slowly Miss Peregrine nods.

"Good. Ok, children, I'm going to look for Claire. Has anyone any ideas where she might go to?"

Some of the children shake their heads immediately, others think for a while but do it then.

"Ok, then I'm driving around the blocks and along the ways to school, the playground and the gym. Meanwhile you can make the phone calls Alma and the rest of you can think if you might know anything that could help," Ethan says, gives Alma and Charlotte another kiss before turning around back to the front door.

"And as you can't do anything else anyway, please start eating," he laughs. "I can hear your stomachs from here and if you wait any longer, Millard has already eaten everything in his own."

With that Ethan closes the door behind himself, leaving some confused children behind. Shocked they have to realize that he was right and Millard has already eaten half of the bowl with fries.

"Millard!" Emma exclaims annoyed while the rest of the children laugh and start filling their plates.

Only Miss Peregrine doesn't feel like laughing, even if Ethan thinks so positive, she's still too worried. Therefore she places Charlotte down and takes the phone. Like Ethan said, she takes a few deep breaths before calling the first friend of Claire.

After the children have finished eating, Jake and Enoch clear the table and the children are allowed to go upstairs.

Miss Peregrine is sitting on the couch, still with the phone but so far no one has seen Claire. With every call she gets more restless. Emma and Olive have sat down next to her, Olive holding Charlotte and Emma trying to calm down their ymbryne by stroking her arm.

"We could also go and have a look around, maybe we will see her," she suggests.

"I don't know," Miss Peregrine sighs. "If she really doesn't want to be found, you probably won't."

Crying, she lets her head drop into her hands.

"How could I have been so irresponsible?"

Emma leans forward to hug her ymbryne.

"Miss P., please don't blame yourself."

"How can I not? If I hadn't treated her the way I did, she wouldn't have run away!"

Neither Emma nor Olive know what to retort to that, so they both lower their heads.

"If I could only turn into my bird form," Miss Peregrine sobs. "Then I could search a lot more places in a short time."

"Don't you dare consider that!" Emma exclaims angrily but Miss Peregrine looks away.

"You know exactly how it ended last time and I bet it would be even worse this time. Besides, your body hasn't even healed completely, you could die!"

Also Olive looks at her ymbryne in shock and silently pleads for her to forget this idea.

"I know," Miss Peregrine sighs eventually. "But I just feel so helpless like this."

"We understand that! Have you already called all the other mothers?" Emma asks and Miss Peregrine nods defeated.

"None of them know where Claire might be and also their daughters haven't heard from Claire for some time."

"That's not good," Olive says, thinking about where else her little sister could go to.

"Maybe she's just walking around town a bit and will come later when she has calmed down again."

"I don't think so," Miss Peregrine answers. "You haven't seen the look in her eyes. She was so hurt."

"I'm sure she understood you though. Even if not immediately, I bet she now knows that you didn't mean it like that. You were in pain and were busy with caring for Charlotte."

"But that's exactly it," Miss Peregrine starts sobbing again. "I didn't want to neglect you because of her, ever. It was my highest priority and now I did it anyway."

"But that's just natural!" Emma insists. "Charlotte needs your full attention and she will still need it for a few years, that's just something even Claire has to learn. And I know that it's the hardest for her as she's always been the little princess in our family but she also wanted to know how it is to be an older sister, so that's how it is."

Olive nods her agreement as well but it doesn't make Miss Peregrine feel better.

"But what are we doing if we can't find her?" she asks.

"I'm sure we will or that Claire comes back herself. I don't think she gets lost or anything - she's too smart."

"Exactly! And when she has enough of her little adventure, she'll surely come back and if she doesn't know how, she'll ask someone," Olive adds.

"I just hope you're right," Miss Peregrine sighs and uses her hands to wipe away the tears before she looks to the side where Charlotte is lying in Olive's arms and tries to play with her hair.

Alma just can't help but smile at that.

A little while longer they stay like that, soon also joined by the boys who keep encouraging their ymbryne as well.

But then Ethan returns - unfortunately without Claire.

At seeing him standing in the doorway with the expression in his face, Miss Peregrine bursts into tears again.

 _What are they going to do now? She can't just wait here and see if Claire returns on her own or not._

Immediately Ethan sits down next to her and embraces her in a tight hug.

"Shh," he tries to comfort her. "That doesn't mean anything. It's just nearly impossible to find such a little girl in the middle of the city when she doesn't want to be found."

"And now?" Miss Peregrine wants to know.

"I will keep looking and also the boys could drive around later. Maybe we'll see her then. And for now we can ask the police what we should do or if they can help."

"Alright," Miss Peregrine says, leaning into Ethan's arms but finally relaxing a bit. Here in the present time it's at least easier to find her than in the middle of the Second World War, where there's no civilisation around.

"Can we go now?" she asks then.

"I'll give them a call first, Alma. Maybe we don't even have to go there at all and if, I'd rather have you stay here with Charlotte."

Miss Peregrine looks disappointed although she knows that Ethan's right. At the moment Charlotte is sleeping once more but soon she'll be hungry again and Miss Peregrine wouldn't want to take her into town yet anyway.

Looking at the newborn, lying on the couch between them, she nods. So Ethan gets the phone of the table and calls the police.

The officer at the other end of the line is very friendly and assures Ethan that they will do everything they can to find Claire. First they need some information about her, like how she looks and what clothes she wears, before they are going to inform all other police offices in town as well as radio stations to let the people know to keep an open eye.

Luckily they don't have to come over and it's enough if Ethan sends them a photo of Claire with his mobile phone.

So that's what he does while staying on the couch with Alma and the girls. Soon, though, they are also joined by the other children.

They are all worried as well and come down to sit with the adults.

Especially the twins are very agitated as they are usually very close to Claire, they keep changing their places, from sitting with their ymbryne to Emma or Ethan, all the time making noises, that no one understands.

Also Bronwyn feels bad for not being there when Claire needed her.

"She always comes to me when she's angry about something, why didn't she do it this time?"

Emma has to agree with her. "Claire is usually not the type to sort something out for herself, she always comes to one of us."

Olive nods as well.

"Horace, haven't you seen anything in your dreams that might help us?" Millard asks but Horace looks down at his lap and shakes his head.

"I'm really sorry, but no," he says nearly ashamed.

Miss Peregrine gives him a forced smile. She doesn't feel like smiling but neither does she want any of the other children to feel bad for something that only she caused.

"Maybe I could send my bees out to go look for her?" Hugh suggests eagerly.

"That's a very nice thought," Miss Peregrine tells him gratefully. So Hugh stands up and walks outside the terrace door, exhaling a deep breath and letting go of all his bees.

The children and Ethan watch him from inside and Ethan is as fascinated as when he first saw all their peculiarities. It's just that he doesn't see Hugh like this very often as he lives without his bees most of the time now.

One bee seems to want to stay with him, though and Hugh has to talk it into leaving with the others before he can return inside.

Soon Ethan and the teenage boys leave again to drive around, looking for Claire. Jake has also called his parents to let them know and make them help.

But again they return unsuccessfully, which leaves Miss Peregrine devastated.

"Now we can only wait what the police will achieve," Ethan says and sits down to comfort her again.

But Miss Peregrine can't be calmed down and paces the room. Also Charlotte has started whining again, Ethan doesn't know if it's because of the tense atmosphere or because she's feeling unwell again like last night.

Nonetheless he picks her up and goes with her outside for a little walk and tries a lot of things for distraction but in the end it's again only Miss Peregrine who can calm her down by breastfeeding her.

As the little girl is finally asleep again, Alma starts crying herself. It's just too much for her. The fear about Claire, her pain and also her hormonal state at the moment doesn't help.

The children don't know what to do, so it's once more up to Ethan.

Lovingly he takes Alma in his arms. Olive has made tea for them all and he can convince Miss Peregrine to drink some as it's supposed to calm her down a bit.

After a while also she falls asleep on Ethan's lap, still so exhausted from the last days. After all it's only two days ago that she had little Charlotte and the last nights weren't very restful either.

Ethan makes the children play some board games on the little table to be distracted while he leans back, watching them, the sleeping woman on his lap and his tiny daughter to his left.

He just hopes that this will end well and that they find Claire very soon.

After a while, Charlotte wakes up again. Ethan is sure that she can't be hungry again, so he carefully frees himself from under Alma and goes to change Charlotte's nappy before taking her and the rest of the children outside.

It's a beautiful and sunny day outside, not too hot but still summery.

He places Charlotte on a little blanket on the grass with an umbrella sheltering her from the strong sunlight.

Then he starts to build their new tree house with all the children together - as a distraction. It's supposed to be a really big one, with lots of space, a tower, some windows with curtains and a slide.

Of course the girls wanted it to look like a fairy castle while the boys prefer less colours and especially no pink.

"We'll decide about that later, for now let's just build the floor and the walls," Ethan laughs and they all get started.

One of the girls stays with Charlotte all the time, just in case. She can't turn herself yet but Ethan doesn't want anything happen to his little girl and the older girls aren't very much into building the tree house anyway.

For the first time today, they are all carefree again. They laugh together, the children playing in the garden when they're not helping Ethan. He and the boys have climbed up the tree and are attaching the first boards to the branches.

Suddenly Ethan hears his name, though. Surprised he looks up to see Miss Peregrine standing in the front door. She still looks incredibly tired but alarmed at the same time.

Worried, Ethan stops his work and climbs off the tree.

"What's wrong?" he calls across the garden.

"The police has just called but I didn't reach the phone fast enough," Miss Peregrine explains in a desperate voice.

"It's alright, Alma. I'll call them back immediately!" Ethan says while making his way towards her. He tells all the boys to come down from the tree until he's back and also the other children, who've been sawing and nailing boards are supposed to stop for now.

They can't use any accidents as well today.

Ethan walks up the small hill towards the house, not without looking at his little daughter again, who's squirming on the colourful blanket. She's still too young to really smile but looks not less happy as Emma and Olive play with her.

She's dressed in one of the gorgeous little dresses Alma has bought some months ago and also wears a beautiful little sunhat.

Too soon, though Ethan has to stop looking at her and finds himself in front of Miss Peregrine, who's looking the complete opposite of happy and immediately Ethan's smile fades, too.

Together they walk back inside and sit down on the couch where Ethan takes the phone from Alma and dials the number of the police.

Anxiously, Miss Peregrine sits on the edge of the couch next to him and waits for some news, trying to hear what the voice on the other end of the line says.

But despite her good senses, she can't make out any sentences and has to wait until Ethan hangs up and turns towards her.

"I'm sorry," he says. "They still haven't found her, but the officer promised to keep looking and they are even extending the radius of their search."

Miss Peregrine hasn't heard the last words of Ethan as she's already fighting to stop the tears from falling again.

"Oh damn it! Why do I have to be so emotional," she exclaims angrily and punches the pillows next to her. It's so not like her to start crying all the time. She usually can stay calm and focussed, no matter what happens.

Again she finds herself in Ethan's strong arms. He hugs her and strokes her back until her breathing is even again.

A little while later, Ethan leaves her again to inform the other children, who are of course very disappointed about the news as well. Miss Peregrine decides to distract herself by cooking their dinner but it's not working - not really. All the time her thoughts drift off to her little Claire and she burns their potatoes and oversalts the vegetables.

Eventually Emma and Olive come inside and replace her, so that they are going to have at least something to eat for dinner. They send Miss Peregrine outside to the others, where she lies down next to Charlotte, enjoying the last sunrays of the day and her happy children.

Still, though she has to think about Claire and how different it is without her being here with them. Ethan can see that she's nearly crying again and distracts her with some light work she can do to help them, like painting a few boards.

Half an hour later, Olive calls them inside for dinner and Miss Peregrine realises for the first time how late it is. Soon it will be getting dark and who knows what might happen to Claire then.

All of them take their seats at their big table and start eating, what the girls have cooked. The atmosphere is quite depressed again and all of them glance at Claire's empty chair in between bites.

In the middle of their meal, the telephone rings again. Quickly Miss Peregrine gives Ethan the phone, that she has deliberately placed on the table to reach it quicker this time. She doesn't feel like answering it herself, though.

It's indeed the police again and all of them listen intently to what Ethan says.

 _"I don't know, we never thought about it, there wouldn't be a place to go to...Why? ... Alright, that could really be her."_

Miss Peregrine and the children look at Ethan with wide eyes.

 _"Where exactly was that? ... Oh, no! That's indeed possible that she might have taken that route. Where is she now?"_

All around Ethan there's absolute silence. None of them dares to say anything, only little Charlotte makes funny noises while moving in her little seat, that Miss Peregrine has placed next to them all.

 _"What? Why?"_ Ethan exclaims suddenly. _"What happened?"_

The children as well as Miss Peregrine look at Ethan with shocked expressions, all of them desperately want to know what the police is saying.

Miss Peregrine just hopes that her Claire isn't hurt and that they have found her.

 _"Alright, we're on our way now"_ is the last Ethan says before he hangs up.

Suddenly the silence is replaced by some loud discussions. All the children start talking at the same time.

"What is it?"

"Have they found her?"

"Is Claire alright?"

"Where is she?"

Ethan shushes them all and looks at Alma. Across the table he takes her hands in his before he starts talking.

"They think, that they have found Claire. Apparently she took the train southwards, the one Esmeralda always takes..."

"Of course! Why didn't we think of that?" Miss Peregrine blames herself. "Where is she now?"

"In a police station a few miles from here. They have found her pretty early as she didn't have a ticket and the conductor thought it odd to have such a young girls travelling alone."

Miss Peregrine gives a sigh of relief but frowns as she sees Ethan's expression.

"There's something else," he continues seriously.

"As they wanted to take her with them, she ran away and when they tried to catch her she escaped, biting one of the men."

"Oh no," Miss Peregrine says shocked. "And now?"

"She hid somewhere but they could find her and brought her to the nearest police station, where she's now locked away."

"What? No! How could they do that to such a little girl?" Miss Peregrine exclaims as angrily as desperately. She nearly starts crying again when thinking about her little girl, in her pink princess dress in a dark and cold prison cell. But this time her anger is stronger and she can fight the tears.

"Apparently the man's wound is pretty bad and they feared she could hurt other people as well," Ethan tries to explain what the police officer had said.

"We have to get her out of there - now!" Miss Peregrine decides and jumps to her feet.

"Yes, of course," Ethan agrees. "I've already told them we'd come as soon as possible."

He gets up as well while Miss Peregrine is already grabbing her jacket.

"Can we do anything to help?" the teenagers ask carefully.

"It would be great if you could stay here with the children until we're back," Ethan says and all of them nod.

Miss Peregrine comes back and stands in front of the table, ready to leave.

"What are we going to do about Charlotte? When does she need her next feed?" Ethan asks thoughtfully.

"In about one hour and a half," Miss Peregrine answers.

"Alright, then I'll go and change her nappy again and dress her properly, so we can take her with us. Maybe you can pack up some things for her and whatever you might need?," he suggests and Miss Peregrine nods and does as told.

Since the birth they haven't left the house with Charlotte yet, at least not for longer than a walk around the block. Therefore they still haven't packed a baby bag with all the necessary things.

As both adults are ready and Charlotte is strapped in her car seat, they say goodbye to the other children.

"Good luck!" Emma wishes and all the others nod eagerly.

"Please bring her back safely," Bronwyn adds.

"Will do!" Ethan promises and carries Charlotte to the car, where Miss Peregrine is already waiting impatiently for them to finally leave.


	75. Chapter 32 Part III

**Chapter 32**

 **Part III**

First Charlotte has started crying as she didn't like being in the seat but soon she got used to it and with Miss Peregrine tickling her or talking to her, she quickly forgot about her initial discomfort.

During the drive both adults stay quiet. Alma and Charlotte sit in the second row behind Ethan, busy with themselves, while Ethan concentrates on the street. They seem to have gotten into the rush-hour traffic and all the highways leaving out of the city are jammed.

Therefore it takes longer than expected but eventually the three of them arrive in front of the police station.

Quickly Alma and Ethan leave the car, Ethan again carrying Charlotte, who has once more fallen asleep in her seat.

In the building, at the front desk, they ask for Claire and are immediately led into a separated room, where an older police officer is already waiting for them.

He wears dark and loose clothes, has a moustache and dark intimidating eyes.

Apparently he's in charge of their case.

"Good evening," he greets them harshly and motions for them to sit down on the opposite side of the table.

"I take it you're Miss Peregrine," he addresses Alma directly, who nods. She doesn't like the tone in his ways, it makes her feel like being treated like a criminal.

"And you are?"

"Ethan Sands, Sir!" he answers, smiling politely at the man in front of him.

"I'm her partner."

"Oh," the man says surprised. "There's nothing about a partner in your files."

"What files?" Miss Peregrine asks confused. She has never had any contact with the police before.

"Miss Peregrine, of course there are files about you," the officer laughs. "There have to be institutions for that. You're taking care of twelve children and not very successfully as it looks."

"What do you mean?" Ethan accuses angrily.

The man stays calm and smiles to himself.

"Let's see. We found one of your children alone on a train leaving the city, a girly at the age of only 7 like she told us and apparently without your knowledge. She didn't want us to take her back, so I guess she has run away, which doesn't shed a good light on you, does it?" the officer states coldly.

Miss Peregrine is speechless with shock, never has she been accused like that.

Ethan just wanted to come to Alma's defence but is interrupted by the officer again.

"Furthermore your girl has bitten one of the conductors and not just a bit, she left a real flesh wound."

He takes one photo out of the folder in front of him and shoves it across the table for Alma and Ethan to look at.

At seeing the traces of some sharp and long teeth in the flesh of this hand, Alma gasps.

"Oh no," she says, realising what her girl did. Also Ethan seems to understand her thoughts and gives her a helpless look.

 _What are they going to do now? How can they explain this? Has the man noticed Claire's backmouth? And do the people here know about it already?_

"This girl shows an aggressive behaviour," the man continues. " She's dangerous and that doesn't make me think better of your educating.

"What are you saying? That I teach my children to bite other people," Miss Peregrine answers angrily.

"I can only speak from what I've seen," the officer retorts calmly and puts the photo back into his folder.

"That's ridiculous!" Ethan exclaims. "Claire must have been scared and maybe the man has grabbed her more firmly than necessary, so she felt the need to protect herself. She would never hurt someone without a reason."

The officer shakes his head and laughs.

"And now the poor man is to blame for his own injury. I don't want to hear your lies and accusations. The only thing I'm interested in, is what the girl says but so far she hasn't told us much."

"Can we at least see her?" Miss Peregrine begs desperately.

"I'm afraid, that's not possible yet. We still need to talk to her and we don't want you to intimidate her until she says what you want her to say," the man says and then stands up.

"The court will take it from here, so let's see what they have to say. If you'll excuse me now, I have other things to finish."

He holds the door open for the couple to leave the room.

"For now you can wait in the corridor!" With that he disappears into another room.

Both of them are too shocked to answer and are left it the drafty corridor with only two wooden chairs.

The friendly secretary approaches them, tells them to sit down on the chairs and offers them some coffee, which they gladly accept.

Ethan places Charlotte in her seat next to them on the ground. Luckily she's still asleep so they don't have to worry about her for now.

Slowly the adults are realising what's happening around them and Miss Peregrine can't help but cry again.

Lovingly, Ethan takes her in his arms and kisses her forehead.

"It's going to be alright, Alma. I promise. You didn't do anything wrong, they can't take Claire or any of the other children away from you."

"But that's not true" Alma sobs. "I let my tiredness and pain out on Claire, that was irresponsible. Maybe they're right and I'm not good for my children anymore."

"That's nonsense!" Ethan answers. "You've been good enough for the last 70 years or more and you still are. And even more than that. You're the most loving and caring mother, I've ever seen. Don't let such people make you think otherwise."

Sobbing, Miss Peregrine nods. She knows that Ethan is right but in her emotional state she just can't stop feeling so whiny.

As they sit there arm in arm they both hear other employees talking about their case.

 _"Have you heard about the little girl they found?"one woman asks another. "Yes of course. Poor little thing and then it's also Harrison's case..." "Yes very unfortunate. But have you read the report about the conducter?" "No, what's about it?" "It seems to be some kind of lunatic, he swears the girl has bitten him with the back of her head," the woman laughs out. "Can you believe that someone might actually think that?" Both women can't stop laughing._

Miss Peregrine looks at Ethan with wide eyes.

"Not that as well," she sighs desperately.

Ethan lays his arm around her waist and presses her closer against him.

"It will be alright, Alma. You have heard what they said, no one believes him, so don't worry."

But Miss Peregrine is still worried.

 _What if this man tells more people about it? What if someone believes him and what if the police officer is inspecting Claire closer? What if they have already found her backmouth?_

By now Miss Peregrine is nearly hyperventilating. She's eventually brought back into reality by her little girl crying.

Slowly recovering, she looks down at the unhappy baby in its car seat next to her. She unfastens her and lifts her up in front of her.

"What's wrong, darling?" she asks in a soft voice before taking Charlotte in her arms.

"Do you think she's hungry?" Ethan asks thoughtfully.

"Probably," Alma answers while letting Charlotte suck at her little finger and looking around the room.

Next to them is the entrance door, opening now and then as people enter or leave. To their left at the end of the corridor is the front desk with a little office behind it, where the lovely secretary works.

Along the corridor are more offices behind glass walls and a few more closed rooms like the one they were in earlier.

All the time there are people in uniforms, crossing the corridor, gossiping or discussing other cases.

Ethan seems to read Alma's thoughts.

"I'll go and ask if they have a free room where you can feed her, it's not right here in the corridor," he says, plants a kiss on Alma's forehead and stands up.

Gladly the secretary, who introduced herself as Linda, shows them to a room, also with a table and two chairs. They are luckily softer than the ones outside, so Miss Peregrine leans into one, making herself as comfortable as possible with Charlotte in her arms, while Ethan sits down next to her.

He gets her one of the cloth diapers from their bag before Alma starts nursing their child.

Afterwards while Miss Peregrine redresses herself, Ethan changes Charlotte's nappy again, taking advantage of the room, they have to themselves for the moment. Then they go back outside.

The two chairs are now occupied by other people, so they stop at the front desk to thank Linda for her help. She's really fond of Charlotte and plays with her as Ethan has placed her with the seat on the desk, the parents standing in front of them, just watching.

"This can't be truly happening," Miss Peregrine sighs, more to herself as she's standing next to Ethan. She has placed both her hands on his right shoulder, supporting her body weight and resting her head on top of it. Miss Peregrine really feels exhausted from being on her feet all day and also her stitches have started hurting again, surely also because of the hard chairs they had to sit on.

She should just take Claire, wipe all these people's memories and leave with Ethan, Alma thinks to herself. But she's not sure if she is still able to do so, as she hasn't tried any of her peculiarities since the birth. And even if she could, she's not sure if she has the energy to do it to 20 people or more.

Miss Peregrine sighs out and leans against Ethan.

He worries for her as he can see that this is not good for her and as another police officer passes them, he loses his temper.

"Can someone talk to us, please," he shouts at the younger man.

"We've been here for more than an hour and nothing is happening. We're treated like criminals, while all that we want is to take our girl back home. My fiancée has been worrying all day. It has only been two days ago that she had the baby and instead of lying down she has to stand here."

"Let it go, Ethan," Alma begs quietly. She doesn't want to get into more trouble and this young man surely isn't the one to blame.

"No, I won't. This is not right here. We're sorry that Claire has hurt this man, we truly are. But there must have been a reason, she would never just do it without one. We have a right to talk to her, she shouldn't been alone any longer."

"I'm sorry, sir," the man stammers. "I'll see what I can do for you." Looking back insecurely the man leaves and disappears through a door down the corridor.

Linda looks at them compassionately.

"Would you like to have another cup of coffee?" she asks and Miss Peregrine nods gratefully, happy for the distraction. Maybe it will give Ethan some time to calm down again.

Linda shows them into another room, as it seems some kind of staff room, where Alma can sit down on a couch.

"Thank you," Ethan says, smiling at Linda. "It seems like there are also nice people around here."

"There are," she confirms. "Harrison is an exception. I'm sorry for what he said. He exaggerates all the time and is not really popular around here."

Linda winks at the couple mischievously and they both nod before they are left alone.

Together they finally relax a bit, cuddling with Charlotte as a distraction.

She's just a happy little girl, at least when she's not crying. But so far that wasn't very often except for when she really had a reason to.

At the moment she lies on Alma's thighs again, making funny noises and looking at her parents who keep talking or snuggling her.

Charlotte just looks adorable in her tiny red dress, the white stockings and also a red hairbow.

Looking at her Ethan notices that she's dressed the most appropriate of them all.

Alma, who's usually dressed more than elegant, only wears some loose pants and one of her nursing shirts and he is still dressed in the clothes he has put on to build the tree house with the children earlier.

No wonder that this officer sees them as a weird couple with too many children to cope.

And also the fact that they both haven't slept properly for the last days doesn't help. They probably look like they had too many drugs last night.

Ethan sighs, taking Alma in his arms.

For the second time today he just hopes that this will end soon and that with a happy outcome.

A little while longer they can stay in this room until another police officer stands in the door to get them.

First Ethan thinks that the young man from earlier has really achieved something but then they're told that this Harrison needs to talk to them again, needing some more information about Alma and the children as well as what happened before Claire left.

Reluctantly both Ethan and Alma get up to follow this man back into the corridor before he will bring them into the next room for the interrogation.

At the front desk they stop once more as Linda starts talking to them. She offers to look after Charlotte for some time but Miss Peregrine would rather have her close to herself, which Linda understands of course.

"In the first weeks it seems that you can't be without them for longer than a few minutes. But it will change." She winks at Alma, who smiles as well.

Only as they want to turn around to follow the man down the corridor, they see Claire coming out of one of the rooms on the left side.

She's followed by another woman, approximately Alma's age, who has placed her hand protectively on Claire's shoulder.

Then she sees them all standing on the one end of the corridor.

"Miss P.! " she exclaims happily and runs towards them.

Also Alma makes the way down the corridor before she kneels down to embrace her girl in a tight hug. She doesn't care how much her whole body refuses to make this movements, it's hurting all over. But that she now has her Claire back is so much more important.

"Don't you dare do that ever again," Miss Peregrine sobs into Claire's dress while Ethan looks at them happily.

It seems like an eternity until they eventually break apart and Miss Peregrine stands up again. Claire keeps hugging her legs tightly.

"I'm so happy to be back with you," she sobs silently. "I've really missed you."

Soothingly Miss Peregrine lets her hand caress the little girl's head while turning towards the woman, who now approaches her and Ethan. She desperately wants to talk to Claire. Ask her why she ran away and apologize for her behaviour but now is not the time.

"You must be Miss Peregrine," the woman says in a friendly voice before shaking her hand and then turning towards Ethan.

"And you're Ethan, right?" He nods and shakes her hand as well. They are both happy to finally see Claire and to have another friendly woman to talk to, but nonetheless they stay confused and scared about what might happen next.

"I'm happy to meet you," the woman continues. "Claire has told me a lot about you. I'm glad that you're here now to pick her up, she has missed you."

Miss Peregrine looks back even more confused.

"Can we take her with us?" she asks with wide eyes.

The woman laughs. "Of course or do you want to leave her here."

"Of course not. But what about the hearing and all the other things the officer said earlier?"

The woman shakes her head lightly.

"Forget about that," she says then. "Harrison was all over the top once more. He only sees numbers and laws, never the people. Besides, he doesn't have any children, so how could he ever understand what that means."

She winks at the couple. Probably she's a mother herself, Ethan thinks.

"It took me only one glance at you and Claire together to know that she loves, respects and trusts you completely. And she also told me about her life with you, how happy she is. Not many foster children get such a second family and it would be a huge mistake to take her or any other children from your care."

Insecurely Miss Peregrine looks back at Ethan but he doesn't know what's just happening either.

"Furthermore, Claire told me what happened in the train. This conductor has grabbed her by her hair and she got scared and just wanted to get free. Of course it wasn't right to do that but I think Claire knows that now and she's sorry. It was just unfortunate that the man's hand got hurt so much in the process but he probably did it himself when trying to free it," the woman guesses while Miss Peregrine darts Claire a knowing glance. She just lowers her head in shame.

"You may have to pay for her ticket and probably even for the treatment of the man's wound though," the woman adds.

"Without any other consequences?" Ethan asks surprised.

"Yes! The man won't report Claire as he didn't behave according to protocol. He would have never been allowed to grab her like that. And he as an adult would have to fear more consequences than Claire as a child."

Miss Peregrine nods relieved. She would have never thought that everything would straighten out so easily.

Claire has also turned around, looking at the other woman, who's obviously the child psychologist around here.

"And what about the officer who talked about a court trial?" Miss Peregrine wants to know confused.

"Let me take care of that. Harrison makes a great fuss about everything but luckily he's not the one in charge here. We'll just need you to sign a few forms and then you can leave. And it's about time, you surely had a hard day."

Ethan nods, half laughing about it now and also Alma has to agree, now feeling how exhausted she is, as the adrenaline is wearing off.

"I admire you," the woman keeps talking to Miss Peregrine. "I surely wouldn't have been able to be on my feet for so long, this shortly after the birth of my first child."

"Neither am I," says Alma.

"Speaking of it. May I see the little Charlotte as well? Claire has told me that she's a real cute baby."

Ethan and Miss Peregrine smile at Claire, who looks proudly up at them, before Ethan gets Charlotte from Linda to hold her up for the psychologist to look at.

"Oh and how right Claire was," she says and looks at Charlotte adoringly.

After Ethan and Alma have finished with all the forms they have to sign, they are finally ready to go.

Happy and relieved Miss Peregrine takes Claire by her hand and together with Ethan, who's carrying Charlotte, they leave the station. Of course not before thanking Linda and the friendly psychologist again.


End file.
